The Jackie/Emil Romance Series
by Cajun Quinn
Summary: A series based on my novel. The stories focus on Jackie (my character) and her relationship with Emil Lapin, one of the members of the New Orleans Theives Guild.
1. Falling

Falling

(NOTE: I don't own Emil, Jean-Luc, Tante Mattie, Mercy, Zoe or Genard, they are owned by Marvel. I'm just borrowing them. I do however, own Jackie, who some of you might recognize as the main character in part two of my novel. I'm writing this as a sort of side-story to the novel, even though the events in this particular story would never happen in the novel. There is no time change between the novel and this story: Jackie is 23 and Emil is 35.)

***

"If you keep looking at him, he'll start to suspect somet'ing." Mercy commented with a grin. Jackie looked away quickly and blushed.

"I'm not…" she faltered, realizing quickly that her sister-in-law wouldn't believe her. Sighing, she concentrated on her pizza. Mercy laughed.

"It's pretty obvious, Jade." She said, using Jackie's codename. It wasn't often any of them used it, but it was the first name Jackie had ever had, so it was dear to the young mutant thief. It has only been a few months since Jackie had joined the New Orleans Thieves Guild, and in that short time, Jackie had become a member of the thief family. She had formed bonds with most of the Guild members, and they considered her to be invaluable much like her older brother Remy.

"It sure is," Zoe agreed, sitting down on the other side of Jackie. "What gives, anyway? I thought you didn't like him."

"I don't!" Jackie said to her pizza. Mercy and Zoe laughed.

"Yeah, right!" They replied in unison.

"Jackie, if you don' like him, den Zoe an' I are blind. Which we aren'." Mercy said.

Jackie looked up, blushing even more furiously. "Okay, okay…so I like him, so what? It's not like I could ever do anyt'ing 'bout it. An' b'sides, he would never like me back, so why are you makin' such a big deal out of it?"

"How do you know that?" Zoe asked, stealing a piece of pepperoni off Jackie's slice of pizza.

"Hey Zoe, can you come here for a second?" Genard asked from the other side of the room. The thieves were having a Friday night pizza party at the LeBeau mansion. "I need your opinion of somet'ing. Theoren here doesn' b'lieve me."

"Okay." Zoe replied, getting up and walking over to where Genard and Theoren were talking.

Jackie started looking over to where her adoptive father, Jean-Luc, was talking with Emil. Every time it seemed that one of them was going to catch her looking at them, she looked away and concentrated on her pizza again. Mercy started laughing.

"I remember when I was younger, b'fore Henri an' I got married, I used to do the same t'ing. He always caught me at it…" she said with a faraway look of remembrance on her face.

"Do you t'ink he knows? I mean…I don' want him to find out…" Jackie was mortified at the idea that Emil might know how she felt about him. She and Emil were friends of a sort, even though they had gotten off to a bit of a rocky start, and she didn't want to jeopardize that friendship. 

Mercy looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don' t'ink so," she replied. "An' I'm sure he wouldn' mind if he did. 'Cept for de Guild, he's been alone for half his life."

Jackie frowned. "What d'you mean, alone? What are you talking 'bout, Merce?" she asked, concerned.

Mercy took a bite of pizza before answering. She knew Emil didn't talk about his past much, but seeing as the kid had taken such a liking to him, it couldn't hurt. "Do you know how old Emil is, Jackie?" she asked. Jackie shook her head. "He's thirty-five. A year younger den Genard an' myself. At any rate, when he was seventeen, de Assassins killed his parents an' his little sister."

Jackie's eyes widened and she sneaked a glance over at Emil. "Is dat why he looks sad a lot of de time? An' why he makes jokes all de time?" 

"Oui. De members of dis guild are de only fam'ly he has now, de only fam'ly he's had in eighteen years. He was hurt deeply when Henri was killed too, even t'ough he won' admit it."

"Has he ever had a girlfriend or anyt'ing?" Jackie asked, looking back at Mercy, who shook her head.

"Non. Not many people would put up wit' datin' a t'ief. An' dere's a shortage of girls in de guild in case you didn' notice." 

Jackie wondered how horrible it could be to live so many years without loving anyone, without being loved. She thought her life had been bad, and it had, but in the past few weeks, since she'd realized how she felt about Emil, she'd been happier, even if he didn't know and probably wouldn't feel the same way about her if he did. She remained silent, looking at him and suddenly not caring if he saw her.

Mercy frowned, but it wasn't a bad frown. "Jackie…" she began. "You're in love with him, aren' you?"

Jackie looked back at Mercy with a start. "I don' know, Merce," she replied. "I mean, I've never felt like dis b'fore 'bout anyone, but I don' really know what love is, so how can I know for sure?"

"I t'ink you'll know when it hits you," Mercy said, giving her a smile. "For awhile, I didn' know if I was in love wit' Henri, but when I least expected it, I realized I was. You'll know. For now, jus' go wit' it an' be his friend. T'ings have a way of workin' out in de end."

***

Across the room, Emil was acutely aware that Jackie kept looking at him. At first he brushed it off, thinking there was no way she could be. But as he and Jean-Luc kept talking, it hit him that she was in fact looking at him. And blushing from time to time. It was getting unnerving. 

"You seem uncomfortable, Emil." Jean-Luc commented.

"Huh? Uh, oh, no I'm fine, Jean-Luc. Really." Emil stammered in reply.

Jean-Luc shook his head. "Non, you're not. You keep lookin' at Jackie. I don' t'ink she's doin' anyt'ing out of de ordinary…you want to tell me what's goin' on? I didn' t'ink you an' she liked each other all dat much."

Emil's face turned as red as his hair. "I…uh…we don'."

"Den why are you blushin' like dat?" Jean-Luc grinned. "It's getting hard to tell where you forehead ends an' your hair begins."

"No reason! Um, excuse me for a second." Emil replied, beating a hasty retreat out of the room.

Jackie watched him leave with a frown on her face. She got up and walked over to where Jean-Luc was. She was concerned about this…there shouldn't be a reason for Emil to leave the party.

"Jean-Luc, what was dat 'bout?" she asked her father.

"I'm not sure, petite. He kept lookin' at you when you weren' lookin', an' when I asked him 'bout it, he blushed to de roots of his hair an' wouldn' say anyt'ing. You know de rest."

"Oui…" Jackie said vaguely. 

"Is somet'ing wrong, petite? You seem distracted." Jean-Luc asked.

"What? Oh, no, it's not'ing, Jean-Luc." Jackie replied, deciding to see where Emil went.

Tante Mattie came over as she walked away, and looked at Jean-Luc. "What's goin' on, Jean-Luc?" she wanted to know.

"I'm not too sure, Mattie, but I t'ink Jackie an' Emil are hidin' somet'ing. From demselves as well as de rest of us."

Mattie smiled. "I t'ink you're right, mon ami. It will be interestin' to see where dis goes."

***

Emil was standing in the kitchen, looking out the window into the back yard. He didn't notice when Jackie entered the room. She leaned in the doorway for a few moments, just looking at him. In her eyes the red-haired thief was a very handsome and desirous man. He was a study in contrasts, at times joking and at others mournful. The best computer specialist in New Orleans, he was also extremely smart and talented and could do anything with a computer you could think of. Jackie admired him greatly and was attracted to every aspect of him, from the way he carried himself, to the way he stood up against Theoren and Claude when no one else would, to his red hair, to his charming smile.

Emil was lost in thought as he looked out the window, still unaware that Jackie was looking at him. He was trying to figure out when his feelings for Jackie had changed. He remembered how at first, they hadn't liked each other all that much…she resented him just about every time he said anything, and he thought she was difficult and compulsive. For the sake of everyone involved they had put their differences aside and formed a friendship that seemed to get stronger every day. Emil had learned that Jackie was just a lot like Remy, and he realized he wouldn't have it any other way. A few weeks before, something had changed. Emil started looking at Jackie in a different way, although he valiantly tried to hide it from everyone, especially her. 

As he stared out the window, Emil was hit with a revelation. "I'm in love wit' her," he said softly to himself, eyes widening in wonder. He wouldn't have spoken aloud if he'd known she could hear every word he said, but he didn't so he kept going. "For de first time in my whole life…wow…but she'd never love me back, I mean look at me. I'm a computer geek an' a t'ief. Not 'xactly de most appealin' guy on de planet. 'Sides, she's young, she'll find some handsome young man…I can' tell her…"

Jackie, in true thief fashion, quietly walked over to him. Her heart was pounding; her stomach was in knots. She took a deep, but quiet breath, and placed a hand on Emil's arm. "You jus' did," she said softly.

Emil jumped slightly when she touched him. He took a breath as he turned around to face her, panic in his stomach. 'Dis didn' jus' happen…' he thought.

Jackie smiled at him when he turned around, her purple-on-black eyes filled with emotion. "I'm sorry for listenin', but I was watchin' you an' couldn' help it when you started talkin'."

Emil's blue eyes had a mixture of relief and uncertainty in them. Jackie couldn't blame him; she was feeling the same way. "I…uh…you weren' s'posed to hear dat…" he stammered, looking away.

"I know. Is it true?" Jackie decided to just ask and get it over with. It was better than beating around the bush.

"Yeah…I guess it's been true for awhile…I don' know when t'ings changed, but I do know dat I love you. I've never felt dis way 'bout anyone or anyt'ing b'fore. An' dat scares de hell out of me…I'm de one who's sorry…jus' forget 'bout it, okay? It doesn' matter." Emil replied, turning away, closing his eyes, and willing the pain to go away.

"It does matter, Emil. It matters a lot." Jackie said, grabbing his arm and turning him back to face her. "T'ings changed for me too. I'm jus' as scared as you. You t'ink dis is somet'ing I'm used to?"

"What?" Emil demanded. He had not expected this. "What're you sayin'?" 

"I'm in love wit' you too. I have been for awhile, but I didn' want anyone to know…I was worried you wouldn' feel de same way. I've never felt like dis, I don' really know what to expect…I'm sorry…I shouldn' have been listening…." It was Jackie's turn to look away and try to escape, but like with Emil, it didn't work for her either. He grabbed her arm this time, and stopped her.

"Guess dat makes a pair of us," he grinned. "Neither one of us knows what to expect."

"I know…what do we do now?"

Emil looked thoughtful. "Well, I don' know 'bout you, but I know what I want to do," he said, moving closer to her.

"What's dat?" Jackie asked, acutely aware of his closeness. Her heart started pounding even harder than it was before. Her breath was coming in quick bursts, but Emil didn't notice. Or if he did, he didn't say anything.

"Jus' dis." Emil replied with a grin, pulling her into his arms and leaning over. He brushed his lips over hers in a soft kiss. Her eyes opened wide for a second and she stiffened, not sure how to react, then she just gave in and, closing her eyes, she returned the kiss, melting into his embrace.

Seconds or hours later, they broke the kiss, which had grown deeper as the time passed, releasing the feelings they'd each kept hidden for so long. Breathing heavily, they stared at each other, eyes wide in wonder.

"I t'ink maybe we should go wit' de flow, non?" Emil said softly.

Jackie smiled and leaned up. She kissed him lightly and said, "Oui, I t'ink dat's a good idea."

"I love you, Jacqueline LeBeau." Emil said, returning the smile and then the kiss.

"I love you too, Emil Lapin."

***

Jean-Luc and Tante Mattie stepped back into the hallway, glad they had not been seen by Emil and Jackie. If they had, they would have had a lot of explaining to do. They had followed Jackie and witnessed the entire exchange between the two young people. They smiled at each other in contentment.

"So dat's what dis was all about," Jean-Luc commented. "I hope dey'll be happy."

"Dey will," Mattie assured him. "I know it. We'll jus' have to make sure Theoren and Claude don' give dem a hard time…"

"If dey do…" Jean-Luc replied in a slightly threatening voice. Jackie was his daughter, even it if wasn't totally official, and he had always loved Emil like a son. "You know, I'm glad 'bout dis. Dey both deserve to be happy after everyt'ing dey've gone t'rough in de past."

"An' dat's de truth. Let's go rejoin de party. Dey should have some privacy for awhile." Mattie told him. He nodded and followed her back into the living room.


	2. Confessions

Confessions

(NOTE: This is the first of possibly a few sequels to my story "Falling" which was a spin-off of sorts to my novel. Marvel owns Emil and the Thieves. I'm just borrowing them for the sake of entertainment. I do own Jackie, but if Marvel would like to buy her from me, I might consider selling her…not! How about this: I'll give them half the rights to her if they'll give me half the rights to Emil? Hmmm…something tells me they won't go for that…)

***

"Jackie, where have you been?" Mercy asked when Jackie returned to the party some fifteen minutes later. Mercy was standing with Tante Mattie and Zoe, and while Mattie knew what was really going on, the younger women did not, and they were curious as to why Jackie hadn't come back for so long.

Jackie turned beet red. She and Emil had mostly just talked during their time alone in the kitchen, trying to figure out what and how to tell the rest of the guild about what had happened between them. One of the things they decided was that they'd go back to the party separately. But it wasn't the talking that Jackie was blushing about. In between talking, the two had shared soft, tentative, searching kisses, in an attempt to fully understand their feelings.

"In de kitchen, duh." Jackie replied cheerfully, hoping her bright smile would take Mercy's eyes off her flushed cheeks. It didn't work.

"An' you bein' in de kitchen is a reason to get all flushed an' nervous?" Mercy commented.

"I'm not nervous. Why would I be nervous?" Jackie replied, wishing the floor would open up and swallow her. She was nervous, but it was due to the fact that the others had to be told. She wasn't ashamed or nervous about what had happened.

"Mercy, maybe de girl doesn' want to tell you." Tante Mattie scolded lightly.

"Why wouldn't she tell us?" Zoe wanted to know. "We won't bite. Come on, Jackie. What's up?"

Jackie sighed with the air of a martyr. "If you must know, I was in de kitchen wit' Emil an' we were talkin'. Dat's all. Sheesh, give me a break, would ya?"

"Yeah, okay, Jackie, whatever you say," Mercy replied. She and Zoe moved off to sit on the couch as Emil made his entrance and headed over to Genard, Claude, Theoren and Jean-Luc. Tante Mattie watched Jackie for a moment as Emil joined the other guys. The young woman's face changed, a soft smile crossed her lips and the flush that had begun to fade from her cheeks returned with a vengeance. And she couldn't take her eyes off him. Nor did she try to hide any of it. Until Mattie spoke, that is.

"Jus' talkin' huh?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jackie's eyes snapped back to her friend with a start. "Huh? Oh. Yeah. Jus' talkin'. Dat's it, yeah," she stammered in reply.

"Don' lie to me, child. It won' work, but not jus' b'cause I can tell." Mattie reprimanded softly. "Do you want to know de truth?"

"'Bout what, Tante?" Jackie asked, willing herself to get a grip. Glancing at Emil, she saw he was having just as hard a time as she was, and it made her feel a little better that she wasn't alone in this.

"Your papa an' I followed you to de kitchen. We both saw de first five or so minutes of what happened between you an' Emil. Den we left. I'm sorry. We shouldn' have, but we were curious. We both knew you were hidin' somet'ing an' we wanted to know what it was."

***

"You what?" Emil demanded, pretending to be appalled, but secretly relieved beyond all measure.

Jean-Luc sighed. Like Tante Mattie, he waited until the other men were out of earshot before telling Emil what he and Mattie had done. "I'm sorry, Emil. It was wrong of us, we shouldn' have done it."

Emil merely shrugged. "Why'd you do it? I mean isn' dat kind of an invasion of our privacy? No one was s'posed to hear dat conversation or see…no one but us."

"De truth? Curiosity. You were both actin' so weird, like teenagers, an' we knew you were hidin' somet'ing, 'specially from each other. We wanted to know what it was, dat's all." Jean-Luc confessed. Emil nodded.

"Do dey know?" he asked quietly, tilting his head over to where the other thieves were sitting on the couch, talking.

Jean-Luc shook his head, his ponytail swinging. "Non. Mattie an' I may be guilty of eavesdroppin' on you, but even we know better den to tell dem somet'ing dat only you an' Jackie have de right to say."

"Are you mad? I mean…" Emil faltered, unsure of how to say what he was thinking. 

"Non. Why would I be?" Jean-Luc questioned. "I love you both dearly, an' all I want for everyone in dis guild is happiness. An' if anyone here deserves to be happy after everyt'ing dat's happened in de past, it's you an' Jackie."

Emil smiled, showing his relief finally, as Tante Mattie and Jackie joined them. "Merci, Jean-Luc."

"You still have to tell dem, though." Mattie said cheerfully but firmly. Neither she nor Jean-Luc was about to let the young couple get away without coming clean to the entire guild. And that also meant a phone call to Remy in New York. Remy was Jackie's brother, after all, and Emil was one of his closest friends. He had more of a right than any of the others to know what was going on.

"Not tonight!" they protested in unison, which made them laugh.

"Not tonight, what?" Claude asked from the couch. He and the other four thieves had been watching the proceedings in front of them in silence, but enough was enough. They wanted in on the secrecy.

Jackie and Emil looked at each other, eyes wide with horror. They had no choice now. The phone call to Remy could wait until tomorrow, but this could not. They both knew they wouldn't get out of the room without telling their new secret.

***

"Jackie?" Mercy asked, poking her head into Jackie's room later that night.

Jackie looked up from the entry she was making in her diary. "Huh? Oh, hi, Merce. Come on in if you want."

Mercy closed the door behind herself and sat on the bed. Jackie swiveled in her chair so she was facing her sister-in-law and waited.

"Jackie, are you okay?" Mercy got right to the point. One thing she had learned about the newest member of the LeBeau family was that Jackie hated beating around the bush.

Jackie fiddled with the pen in her hand and sighed. "Oui. I guess. I mean, why do dey have to be such jerks?"

Earlier that evening, before Jean-Luc had deemed it necessary to end the party before someone got physically hurt, Jackie and Emil had told their friends what had happened in the kitchen. Mercy, Zoe and Genard had all been happy for the couple, and were delighted with the news. Love and happiness did not come easy for members of the guild, and when someone was lucky enough to get those things, they didn't take it lightly. Theoren and Claude, who had been in the guild almost as long as Jean-Luc, and had, as Zoe commented one more than one occasion, lost their senses of humor somewhere along the line, had not been so happy about the news.

They left Jackie alone for the most part, because she was Jean-Luc's adopted daughter, plus she was the newest member of the guild. On the other hand, they let Emil have it, berating and blaming him in front of the others for what was going on, even stooping so low as to call him a cradle-robber because Jackie was so much younger than him. Emil defended himself, but it wasn't until Jackie stood by him, patiently explaining in an angry voice, purple eyes glowing, that it was something the two of them had brought on, not just one or the other, that the older men began to back down.

After seeing the hurt in the eyes of the couple, Jean-Luc had sent everyone home, saying that they would meet there in the morning and, if need be, discuss the situation without fighting about it. Claude and Theoren saw very plainly that they were seriously outnumbered, but they couldn't resist taking more jabs at Emil after they were out of Jean-Luc's earshot. Jackie had heard them though, and she was furious with them for treating Emil like that.

"You don' know dem as well as de rest of us, Jackie, even now. But you're learnin', I t'ink. I'm jus' sorry you're havin' to learn de hard way." Mercy explained, reaching over and taking Jackie's shaking hand as the younger woman began to cry in anger and frustration. "Dat's jus' de way dey are. Dat's how dey express demselves. Dey don' like change, an' in spite of what you might t'ink, dey do care."

"What? No way! If dey cared, dey wouldn' treat Emil de way dey treated him tonight. Dey would have supported us de way de rest of you did." Jackie scoffed. She didn't believe for one minute that what Mercy was saying was true. Yet, when she looked into her sister-in-law's eyes, she saw that Mercy was telling her the truth.

"Dey do care, Jackie. Dey do support you. Truth be told, dey're scared. So are Jean-Luc an' Tante Mattie, though dose two would never tell you dat."

"Why? Why are dey scared? If anyone should be scared, it's us, not de rest of you!" Jackie wanted to know.

Mercy sighed. "Jackie, dey've seen what's happened in de past. Henri an' I, we were so happy, so free, if you will. Den de Assassins killed him. It tore me apart; it tore us all apart. An' dat ain' de first time somet'ing like dat happened. We're scared…we're concerned…dat somet'ing will happen to ruin your happiness too. We don' want to see dat. We care 'bout you two a lot, we don' want anyt'ing to happen to destroy what you have now. Do you understand dat?"

Jackie stopped crying and blew her nose. "Oui. I understand. I jus' wish Theoren an' Claude could express demselves a little more civilly!" 

Mercy laughed. "So do de rest of us, petite, trust me."

***

The next morning, Emil and Genard arrived at the LeBeau mansion at the exact same time Theoren and Claude got there. Emil groaned as they got out of their cars.

"Jus' relax, Red," Genard said under his breath, using the nickname he and Henri had given Emil when they were children. "Stay cool."

Emil nodded and they met up with Claude and Theoren at the door.

"Genard, could you go in ahead of us?" Theoren asked. "We'd like to talk to Emil for a second b'fore we go in."

Genard looked at Emil, who nodded again. Once Emil gave the sign that it was okay, Genard opened the door and entered the mansion, saying a silent prayer as he shut the door and joined the others in the living room.

Emil looked at Theoren and Claude expectantly. He had no idea what they wanted to talk to him about, and he was still more than a little sore at them for the things they had said the previous night.

"We want to apologize for de way we b'haved last night." Claude began. "We know we were out of line an' we're sorry. We shouldn' have said dose t'ings."

"Oui." Emil encouraged shortly.

"We're jus' worried, dat's all." Theoren continued. "We really are happy for you two, an' we want to make sure not'ing happens to jeopardize what you have. We jus' don' really know how to say dat."

Emil raised an eyebrow and grinned. "You jus' did, silly. An' t'anks. It means a lot. Havin' de entire guild b'hind us, supportin' us, I mean. C'mon, Genard's probably freakin' out in dere, wonderin' what's up," he said, opening the door.

"Don' you t'ink, though, dat de age difference might…?" Claude inquired with a raise of his own eyebrows. Emil's grin broke into a full smile.

"It's only eleven an' a half years, Claude. I t'ink we can handle dat."

"Whatever you say, Emil." Theoren laughed as they entered the living room. Claude and Emil joined in his laughter as they saw Genard breathe a huge sigh of relief over the knowledge that his three friends hadn't killed each other on the front steps.

Jackie made the phone call to New York that morning. That was the main reason for the meeting, so that the whole guild would be there, backing them up.

"Here goes not'ing…" Jackie whispered, picking up the phone and dialing the number. As she waited for someone to pick up, Emil grinned at her and showed her that he had his fingers crossed. She giggled and suddenly felt better about calling her brother.

"Xavier's School." The elegant voice on the other end of the phone interrupted Jackie's giggling.

"Ah, um, Storm? This is Jackie. Is Remy around?"

"He is. Please hang on a moment while I get him for you." Storm replied.

"Thanks." Jackie said, and waited a few more minutes while Remy came to the phone.

"Jackie? What's up?" Remy asked.

"Remy! Hi! Um not much, really. I just have something to talk to you about…it's kind of important…"

***

"Well, what do you t'ink?" Jackie asked a little while later when she and Emil were sitting across from each other at the picnic table in the backyard.

"'Bout what?" Emil replied, knowing full well and teasing her for the fun of it.

"De past couple of days. Everyt'ing."

"It's been…interesting. All in all it went pretty well. Remy didn't threaten to kill me, although he did warn me to take good care of you. Claude and Theoren apologized, which was nice of dem." Emil told her. "An' you know what else I t'ink?"

Jackie shook her head, her hair falling into her eyes. "Non, what?"

Emil smiled and stood, leaning across the table. "I t'ink you're de most beautiful women in de whole world," he said, taking her face in his hands and kissing her deeply.

Heart pounding, body trembling, Jackie closed her eyes and returned the kiss. As the kiss grew more intense, time stopped for both of them and they were sure they were the only two people on the planet.


	3. Remembrance

Remembrance

(NOTE: I still don't own 'em, I never will. The people at Marvel are the luckiest people in the world. At any rate, I _do_ own Jackie, and I _do_ own the story itself. You can't take those away from me. Anyway, this is the follow-up to "Falling" and "Confessions" and I assure you, this is it. Well, maybe not…I haven't fully decided yet…)

***

"Remy, I don' understand dis…" Jackie said into the phone. She had been lying on her bed, thinking and crying. She eventually called her brother in New York; she didn't know what else to do.

"Jackie, slow down. What's wrong?" Remy asked.

Jackie took a deep breath and continued. "He's gone. He was s'posed to come over today, we were goin' to go for a walk, you know? Mais, he never showed up. How could he do dat to me? I t'ought…"

Remy sighed and wished he was in New Orleans to comfort his little sister. He wasn't entirely sure what to tell her. He knew Emil a lot better than she did, obviously, and it occurred to him that his friend would not have stood up the woman he loved without a good reason.

"Jacqueline…he has a reason. A good reason. B'lieve me. I know him. He wouldn' have done dis without one. He loves you, an' he would never hurt you for anyt'ing. I know dat for a fact." Remy said, then paused. "Jackie, what's de date?"

Jackie looked at her watch. "It's March 2, why?"

Remy slapped his hand on his forehead and almost laughed. "Dat explains it. Jackie, don' worry 'bout Emil. Trust me on dis one. If you want to know where he is, go to de graveyard. You'll find him dere, if I'm not mistaken."

"Are you sure?"

"Oui, very sure. You're 'bout to learn a bit more 'bout him, an' dat's not a bad t'ing either." Remy told her.

"T'anks Remy. I needed dis." Jackie said. "Bye."

"Au revoir, ma petite soeur. Take care. An' say hi to Papa for me."

"Will do."

***

Emil stood in the graveyard, a solemn figure under the trees. He stared at the graves in front of him, hands shoved in the pockets of his trenchcoat. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't see or hear Jackie walking over to him.

Jackie stopped a few feet away from him, and, with her sharp eyes, was able to read what was carved on the tombstones. She sighed quietly as she realized that Emil was visiting his family, who had died a long time ago. She walked over to him and gently put her hand on his shoulder.

Emil jumped slightly and turned around. "Jackie! What are you…?"

With a sheepish grin, Jackie replied, "I called Remy, an' he said I'd probably find you here. I'm sorry if I'm interrupting…" 

"Non, you're not. It's okay." Emil told her, returning the grin and taking her hand in his. "I'm de one who's sorry. I totally forgot 'bout our walk b'fore. Dat was wrong of me, an' I'm sorry."

Jackie squeezed his hand. "Now it's my turn to say it's okay. I understand. I'd be a pretty crappy girlfriend if I didn' don' you t'ink?"

"I s'pose. So, do you want to meet dem? I mean you can', really, but I can at least tell you 'bout dem."

"If you want to…dey're your fam'ly…" Jackie faltered.

"An' you're de woman I love, so why not?" Emil laughed softly, his blue eyes lighting up. "May as well start at de top, non? Papa was a good friend of Theoren an' Claude, hard as it is to imagine dem havin' friends other den each other. He an' I didn' see eye to eye very much when I was a teenager. It was mostly over de fact dat I wanted to go to away to university an' he didn' want me to go."

Jackie frowned. "How come? Papa said you're de only one who went. Dat's pretty incredible."

"He an' Mama couldn' afford it, but rather den tell me dat, he pretended he jus' didn' want me to go. Jus' b'fore he died, he told me to go, to make everyone proud. So I did, t'anks to Jean-Luc bein' nice enough to pay my way."

"What 'bout your mother?" Jackie asked. 

Emil sighed, a faraway look on his face. "Mama was de nicest, sweetest woman in de whole world. Even better den Tante Mattie, if you can picture dat. She always took my side in my arguments with Papa, which drove him nuts. She never asked any questions 'bout what de Guild did, as long as no one got hurt."

"Do you look like either of dem, or…?" Jackie asked with a mischievous smile. "I'm jus' curious, you don' have to answer if you don' want to."

"For de most part, I look like Mama. I have her hair, eyes an' smile. But I managed to get Papa's nose. Chloe was de lucky one. She got Papa's hair an' eyes." Emil told her.

Jackie looked at the dates under Chloe's name. "She was only eleven…? Mon Dieu…"

"Oui. It was pretty bad. She was six years younger den me. She'd be twenty-nine years old right now if she was still alive." Emil explained, looking away, trying to keep back the tears. He loved his sister very much, and missed her even now. Jackie let go of his hand and moved to stand in front of him. She reached up and took his face in her hands and forced him to look at her.

"It's okay to miss her, Emil. It's okay to miss all of dem." She said softly. "You know, dey say pain goes away with time, but I don' b'lieve dat. It might not hurt as much, but it's still dere, no matter how much time goes by."

Emil gave her a small smile and blinked back his tears. "Chloe was de most important person in my life, even more den my parents were. She an' I were so close…when she died I felt like a part of me had died too." Emil sighed, reaching up and taking Jackie's hands in his. "It still hurts. 'Specially today."

"Is dere anyt'ing I can do?" Jackie asked, concern showing in her violet eyes. "I feel kind of helpless right now…I love you so much, an' I don' know what to do to make you stop cryin'."

"Jus' be here. I allow myself dis one day to be totally an' completely miserable 'bout de whole t'ing, so technically, you can' make me stop cryin'. Mais, don' let dat make you feel helpless, b'cause you can help me, jus' by keepin' me company an' not tryin' to make me stop cryin' if I don' feel like it." Emil told her.

Jackie wrapped her arms around him. "I can do dat," she looked up at him and smiled. "So what do you feel like doin'? It's your day; you call de shots, okay? I'll do whatever you need me to."

"You still want to go for dat walk?" Emil asked with a raise of his eyebrows. "Maybe we could stop at de house an' get some bread to feed de birds in Jackson Square."

"Sure. Dat sounds like a good idea."

***

"Knock, knock!" Emil said, poking his head around the doorway of Jackie's bedroom. They had spent most of the day together, but he had had plans to go out with Genard and Mercy for dinner. When he dropped Mercy off, he used the opportunity to take a run upstairs and see Jackie, which got huge smiles from both Mercy and Jean-Luc.

"Emil!" Jackie exclaimed, looking up from the book she was reading with a smile. "You certainly look more cheerful den you did earlier. What gives? Oh, an' get your butt in here an' have a seat."

Emil came into the room and sat down on the bed beside her. "De day's almost over, an' it's impossible to stay gloomy around Genard an' Mercy. Aside from dat, it's even more impossible to stay gloomy when I'm in de same room as you."

"Oh come on, I'm not de most cheerful person on de planet." Jackie joked.

"Maybe not, but you're beautiful, charming an' I love you so I can' stay miserable when I'm around you." Emil replied. Then he started laughing and said, "You don' have dat effect on anyone else, do you…?"

"Hey! I resent dat!" Jackie said, shoving him down on the bed and tickling him mercilessly. She stopped for a brief second and he took the chance. Reaching up, he threw her back on the bed and rolled over, pinning her down.

"Nobody tickles me an' gets away with it," he said with a grin, bending over. Their lips met in a soft, passionate kiss that thrilled every sense in their bodies.

"T'ank you, by de way," Emil said breathlessly when the kiss ended.

"What for?" Jackie replied, slightly confused. Her mind was whirling, mostly thinking about how good it felt to be that close to him.

"For dis morning. For puttin' up with me."

"Hey, I love you, remember?" Jackie grinned. "Puttin' up with you is part of de deal."

"Oh very funny," Emil replied.

"I like to t'ink so," Jackie said, pulling him back down and kissing him deeply.

***

Two days later Emil stuck his head into Jackie's room, having been told by Jean-Luc that she was there. He frowned, unable to see her anywhere.

"Jackie?" he asked.

Jackie poked her head through the curtains and gave him a tearful smile. "Hi," she said before retiring back behind the curtains and continuing to sit on the window seat and stare out into the yard.

Emil frowned again, tilting his head at the curtains like a confused dog. He walked over and pulled gently at one of the curtains. He peeked in and looked at Jackie, a mixture of concern and confusion on his face. "Did I do somet'ing?"

Shaking her head, Jackie refused to look at him.

"Okay…so you're jus' goin' to sit here an' not tell me what's wrong?"

Jackie shook her head again, and sniffed. It occurred to Emil that she was crying, and he wanted to know why. He pushed the curtain away and sat beside her on the window seat silently. He had a feeling she would talk when she wanted to and in the meantime, he was content to sit and wait.

"You know how you have dat day for bein' miserable?" Jackie asked. Emil nodded, and Jackie continued. "Well, I have dose days too, only dey happen more den once a year. Dis happens to be one of dem."

"You don' have to tell me if you don' want to, Jackie." Emil said softly, gently wiping the tears off her face.

"It's okay…I do. You told me 'bout your fam'ly even t'ough it was difficult to do so. You deserve to know 'bout me too…" 

"Are you sure?" Emil asked.

Jackie nodded. "Oui. Seven years 'go today, when I was still in de circus, dis guy attacked me an' raped me. You know, it's almost kinda funny, but when you see t'ings like dat on television, you don' realize how bad it is. Den, when it really happens, it's…it's jus'…" Jackie's voice trailed off as she broke down.

Emil wrapped his arms around Jackie and held her close to him. "Oh, Jackie…I'm so sorry…" He didn't understand how anyone could do that to another human being. Jackie didn't deserve to be treated that way, and he was furious at the jerk who had decided to get his kicks hurting a beautiful, innocent girl.

"It's not your fault, Emil," Jackie whispered through her tears. She snuggled closer against him and smiled slightly when he kissed her forehead.

"Jackie, chere, I promise you, I will never let anyone hurt you 'gain." Emil assured her.

Jackie giggled and sniffed again. "Dat's a big job you're givin' yourself."

"Ooh, a smile! Hey, it might seem like a big job, mais, you're talkin' to a guy who once stole one of Michael Jackson's gloves. Not'ing is impossible. 'Specially where you're concerned."

"Should I hold you to dis promise you're makin'?" Jackie asked, fully smiling in spite of herself.

"Oui! Jackie, I mean it, you're stuck with me. I'm here for you, no matter what. I love you, an' I won' let anyone hurt you 'gain. End of story."

"T'anks." Jackie sniffed as the tears started again. She wasn't sure if she was still upset over the memories, or if she was happy because she finally had someone who loved her and would be there for her always.

"So," Emil commented, pulling a Kleenex out of his pocket and handing it to her so she could blow her nose. "What now? What can I do?"

"Jus' hold me," Jackie replied, snuggling against his chest with a sigh. "Don' leave me. I jus' need you to be here right now."

Emil tightened his arms around her and nodded. "I'm not goin' anywhere, chere, I promise." He whispered softly. "For as long as you need me, I'm here."


	4. First Time For Everything

First Time For Everything

(NOTE: As always, I do own Jackie and the story. Marvel owns the rest. Although with all I've done with them, I think maybe Marvel should just give in and let me have them. This is fourth in the series. Don't know if there'll be a fifth, we'll all just have to wait and see, myself included.)

***

Emil was starting to get stiff and sore. He had been sitting on the window seat in Jackie's room, holding her, for he didn't know how long. He would have checked his watch, but he didn't want to disturb the beautiful young woman sitting in his arms. So he continued to sit there and ended up watching the sun set behind the trees in the yard.

As it grew dark, he realized that Jackie's breathing had grown steady and even. She was asleep. Emil smiled lovingly at her sleeping form and decided to risk his legs not working. He picked her up and walked over to her bed, trying not to grunt over his stiff back and legs.

Emil gently placed Jackie in the bed and pulled the covers up over her. Then he stood there for a few minutes, watching her sleep and thinking how beautiful she was. He was startled by a quiet voice in the doorway.

"Beautiful, isn' she?"

Emil turned. "Jean-Luc!" he whispered so as not to wake Jackie up. "How long have you been dere?"

Jean-Luc moved over and stood beside Emil. Shaking his head, he said, "Not long. Is she okay? She was pretty upset b'fore."

"Oui, she's okay…Jean-Luc, how could someone do dat to her, to anyone? No one d'serves to be treated like dat. If I could find dat guy…" Emil said in a quietly warning tone.

Jean-Luc almost laughed. "I'd be right b'hind you, Emil. I agree wit' you entirely."

On the bed, Jackie stirred. "Mmmph…Emil?" she murmured.

Emil knelt down beside the bed. "Shhhh…go back to sleep, chere." He whispered softly, lightly brushing a stray strand of hair off her face.

"Don' go…" Jackie replied.

Emil raised an eyebrow and looked at Jean-Luc, who shrugged and headed for the door with a smile. 

"'Night." Jean-Luc said softly before leaving them in peace again.

Emil turned back to Jackie after nodding to Jean-Luc. "I won' go if you don' want me to, chere." He assured her.

"Stay." Jackie mumbled firmly, taking his hand. "Hold me. Please?"

"You don' have to ask me twice." Emil grinned, lying down on the bed beside her and wrapping his arms protectively around her.

Jackie cuddled into his embrace, sighing contentedly and falling back asleep almost instantly now that she knew she was safe. Emil watched her sleep for a few minutes until his vision was blurred by his eyelids getting heavy. Snuggling closer to his girlfriend, Emil sighed and closed his eyes, falling asleep with a smile on his face.

***

Jackie woke up early the next morning with a smile on her face. She lay there quietly, listening to Emil's light, even breathing and watching him sleep. Neither one of them had moved all night; Emil's arms were still around her.

Jackie tried to shift around so that she could stretch herself and all she succeeded in doing was waking Emil up.

"Mmmph?" Emil mumbled with a yawn, blinking his eyes to get them focused. He smiled when he saw Jackie beside him.

"Good morning sunshine!" Jackie said cheerily. 

Emil scratched his head and yawned again. "Hi," he said. "What time is it?"

Jackie looked at her watch. "Seven-forty-five," she replied. "Did you have a good sleep?"

"Oui, did you?" Emil asked, wrapping his arms around her again with a smile.

"Yes, I did. You make a very nice pillow, by the way." Jackie answered, snuggling against him.

"T'ank you…I t'ink…" Emil grinned.

Jackie yawned. "Was Papa here last night as well?" 

"Yeah, for a couple of minutes. I t'ink our talkin' woke you up, an' he left when you asked me to stay." Emil explained.

"Oh…um…was it wrong of me to ask you dat? I mean…" Jackie faltered, pulling away a bit and looking at him, concern showing in her violet eyes.

Emil frowned. "Non, why do you ask? I told you last night dat I'm here for you when you need me. You wanted me to stay, so I did."

"I know, it's jus'…well, what did Papa say?"

"Honestly? He didn' say anyt'ing. Well, except for sayin' "'Night" b'fore he left us." Emil tilted his head and looked at her. "Are you worried 'bout what de others will say or t'ink when dey find out I stayed here wit' you last night?"

Jackie looked away, avoiding his eyes. "Um…well…Theoren an' Claude might…"

"Theoren an' Claude have already expressed concern 'bout de age difference, however, neither dey or any of de others would say anyt'ing 'bout dis."

"Are you sure?"

"Jackie, chere, I've known dem my whole life. Oui, I'm sure." Emil assured her. "Please don' worry 'bout it, okay? An' what makes you t'ink Jean-Luc would say anyt'ing 'bout it?"

"Maybe b'cause he's my father an' if I know anyt'ing 'bout fathers it's dat dey are protective of dere daughters." Jackie replied with a small smile. "Not dat I know much, mais dat seems pretty logical."

Emil grinned. "An' you're not wrong. I remember how protective my father used to be of Chloe…sometimes I'm glad dey didn' have to deal wit' her bein' a teenager b'cause it would have driven dem both crazy."

Jackie laughed. "So how come Papa didn' say anyt'ing?"

"B'cause he knows me an' he knows you. He trusts us, an' he wants us to be happy. B'sides, we're both adults. He can' 'xactly tell us what to do or what not to do."

"I s'pose. I'm sorry. Jus' paranoid, I guess." Jackie sighed, cuddling against him again.

"Not'ing wrong wit' dat, chere." Emil replied, tightening his arms around her and lightly kissing her forehead.

"So, should we actually get up, or jus' stay here?" Jackie asked.

"Hmm…well, I don' know 'bout you, but I'm pretty comfortable right where I'm at." Emil replied.

"How 'bout dat? So am I. So I guess dat settles it."

***

Later that day, after Emil had finally left, Jackie found an envelope on the desk in her bedroom.

Jackie frowned and picked it up. She turned it over and wondering what was going on, she opened it. There was a piece of paper inside, and Jackie recognized Emil's handwriting on it. A large smile broke over Jackie's features as she read what he had written.

"Would you care to join me for an evening out? I was thinking dinner and a movie, but we can discuss that later. Please call me and we'll arrange everything. Love, Emil." 

Jackie put the note back in the envelope and set it down on the desk again, still smiling. Then she left her room and almost danced down the stairs to where Jean-Luc was watching television.

"Hey Papa, guess what?" she asked.

Jean-Luc looked up from the television with a curious expression. "What is it, petite?"

"Emil left a note in my room an' in it he asked me out on a date. A real one. How cool is dat?"

Jean-Luc smiled. "Dat is very cool, chere. I knew he would do dat sooner or later. It's only fitting, since you two are a couple, dat you go out from time to time an' enjoy yourselves."

"Dis is so cool…I've never gone on a date b'fore…" Jackie enthused. She was really very excited over the whole idea and was thrilled that Emil had thought to do something like it.

"What are you going to do on your date, do you know?" Jean-Luc inquired as Jackie sat down beside him.

"He suggested dinner an' a movie, but maybe we'll do somet'ing different, I don' know. He said to call him." Jackie replied. "Quite frankly, dinner an' a movie sounds great."

"It does to me as well, but of course it's your date. Maybe you should go call him." Jean-Luc said.

"Yeah…maybe I should." Jackie replied with a giggle, getting back up and heading to the stairs.

Back up in her room, Jackie re-read the note again and again ended up having a silly grin on her face when she was finished. Then she sat down on her bed and picked up the phone extension, dialing the number to Emil and Genard's apartment and feeling quite exhilarated by the whole experience.

"'Ello?" Genard's voice said on the other end of the phone. Jackie couldn't believe she was relieved that Emil hadn't answered the phone himself.

"Hey Genard! Dis is Jackie. Is Emil around?"

"Yeah, he's here. Maybe you can tell me what's goin' on? He's been pacin' around like he's waitin' for de world to end or somet'ing, an' whenever I ask him what's up, he won' tell me." Genard replied.

Jackie laughed. "He's waitin' for dis phone call, Genard, so maybe after he an' I talk, he'll tell you what's up. Could I talk to him now please?"

"Sure, hang on."

Jackie waited for a couple of seconds and then Emil's voice came over the phone. He sounded nervous. "Hi. I guess you got my note?"

"Oui. An' I've been walkin' around with a silly grin on my face ever since."

"You too? Oh good. I've been wearin' one of dose since I wrote de note. So…are you sayin' yes or no?"

"Emil, I would love to go out with you tonight. T'ank you so much for askin'. Dat was so sweet!"

"Is my suggestion fine or would you rather do somet'ing else? I'll leave it up to you." Emil replied.

"Dinner an' a movie is just fine. What time should I be ready?" Jackie asked.

"How 'bout if I pick you up at six? If dat gives you enough time to get ready, of course." Emil laughed, sounding much more relaxed and less nervous.

"Six is good. I can get Mercy to help me get ready if I need help." Jackie said.

"Okay. So, I'll see you den…"

"Great! Bye."

***

"Mercy, I need your help." Jackie said, poking her head into Mercy's bedroom a few minutes later. "I have three hours to get ready to go out an' I don' have a clue where to b'gin."

"You're goin' out?" Mercy inquired with a smile. She had no idea what was going on, but the idea that Jackie was actually going somewhere was nice.

"Oui. Emil asked me if I'd go out wit' him tonight. Dinner an' a movie. An' I need help getting ready."

"You're goin' on a date? Ooh, get your butt in here! I love dates! I remember b'fore Henri died, he used to take me out all de time. It's fun, an' it helps to forget de problems of de Guild for awhile."

Jackie entered Mercy's room and shut the door behind her. "I don' know what to wear, I don' know anyt'ing. I've never gone on a date b'fore."

"Okay, okay. Relax would you. Have a seat. First of all, do you own any semi-fancy clothes?" Mercy asked.

"You're kiddin', right?" Jackie demanded. "I practically grew up in de circus. De fanciest t'ing I own is my leather jacket an' one pair of jeans dat doesn' have any holes in it."

"Hmm…okay. I'm taller den you, so you won' fit into any of my clothes. We need help here. Hang on." Mercy pondered, picking up the phone and dialing a number. "T'ank goodness for Zoe." She paused and waited for Zoe to pick up her phone. Then, Mercy said, "Zoe? It's Mercy. Can you come over here as soon as possible? An' bring every piece of fancy or semi-fancy clothing you own…No, not for me. Emil asked Jackie out on a date an' we have to send her out in style…okay, great. See you in a few."

"Why…?" Jackie questioned, unsure of why it was so important for her to look good.

"Jackie. Listen to me. Emil isn' takin' you to McDonald's. You'll be goin' to a fancy restaurant. I'm not kiddin'. We have to have you lookin' good, as befittin' someone datin' a member of de Guild. It doesn' matter dat you're a member as well. Dat's not important. Wit' Zoe an' me takin' care of you, you'll be stunnin', which is what we're goin' for. Not only will you make an impression on other people, but you'll blow Emil's mind. Which is probably more important."

Zoe arrived twenty minutes later with a huge armful of clothing. "I brought some make-up and hair stuff too," she said breathlessly, tossing the clothes on the bed by Jackie and putting the other things on the chair.

"Great. Okay, so we have two and a half hours b'fore Emil gets here. Let's get to work." Mercy commanded with a grin. "If we can help it, de man will not be kept waiting…at least not too long."

Just before six, the girls were finished. Jackie laughed nervously as she studied herself in the full-length mirror on the back of Mercy's door. "I don' look like me."

The young woman she was seeing in the mirror didn't remind Jackie of the girl she had always been. Her hair was beautifully styled; her make-up was subtle but noticeable. She had on a purple silk blouse, and a long black skirt. Her outfit was topped off with chunky black shoes, and dangly silver earrings.

"Sure you do, Jack. You just look like a sophisticated, more grown-up you." Zoe assured her, coming back into the room. She had been downstairs to see if Emil was there yet. "And in case either of you want to know, Emil is waiting downstairs looking more nervous than I've ever seen him in my life."

"Oh mon Dieu…" Jackie breathed. "Aside from nervous, how else does he look?"

Zoe laughed. "Charming and handsome. You two are going to blow the people at the restaurant away. But it's past six…you shouldn't keep him waiting any more than he has to."

"Okay…um…t'anks you guys. I don' know what I'd do without you."

"Go out on your date lookin' like you always do, dat's what." Mercy joked. "But never mind that, you look incredible. Now go on. We'll follow you down."

Jackie took a deep breath and said, "Here goes not'ing." Then she opened the door and walked down the hallway to the stairs. At the top of the stairs, she paused and looked nervously back at her friends, who both frowned at her. She giggled and hissed "I'm goin', I'm goin'! Sheesh…"

She walked down the stairs, taking her time because she wasn't used to walking in heels. She stopped when she got to the bottom and found herself staring at Emil, who was sitting and talking with Jean-Luc. He was wearing a normal black suit and tie with black shoes. Both men rose when they saw her and she had a feeling the look on her face was the same one she saw on Emil's. The only word she could think of to describe how he looked was 'Wow.'

Emil walked over to where she stood, enthralled by how beautiful and majestic she looked. "Wow…Jackie, you look amazing," he said, his eyes studying her lovingly, a smile playing across his lips.

Jackie returned the smile, her violet-on-black eyes dancing. "So do you."

"You both look incredible. You make a stunning couple." Jean-Luc declared. "Now go on, an' have a good time."

Emil raised an eyebrow. "Shall we?" he asked Jackie, offering her his arm like any true gentleman would.

"T'ank you." Jackie replied, taking his arm and accompanying him to the door. 

***

A few hours later, Emil parked his car in the driveway at the LeBeau mansion and walked Jackie to the door.

"Dis was so much fun, Emil. T'ank you." Jackie said.

Emil smiled. "You're welcome." He replied, taking her hand and drawing her closer to him. "I had a good time too."

As Emil bent to kiss Jackie, their arms went around each other and they found themselves sharing a deep, tender kiss. The bond between them was growing stronger everyday, and it amazed and thrilled them both to realize just how good it felt to be that close to each other. As the kiss grew more intense and passionate, they were interrupted by the weather. It had begun to rain.

They broke the kiss as the rain started to fall on them and laughed.

"I t'ink dis might be my cue to leave, non?" Emil said, still laughing.

Jackie sighed through her laughter. "Well I was kind of hopin' to get to stay out here for awhile longer, but I t'ink you might be right."

Emil looked at her with a small smile and took her face in his hands. He kissed her lips lightly and whispered, "I love you."

Jackie smiled back at him. "I love you, too," she said softly in return.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Emil said before turning to go back to his car and drive home.

"Okay." Jackie replied, opening the door. She watched him back down the driveway and drive away before she went inside, totally ignoring the fact that she was dripping wet.

"How'd it go?" Jean-Luc asked from the armchair in the living room.

Jackie looked at him, startled. "It was good," was all she replied, a smile gracing her fine features.

Jean-Luc smiled and nodded. "I'm glad. Good-night."

"'Night." Jackie told him as she began to walk up the stairs to her room. She hung Zoe's wet clothes up to dry and took off the make-up. Then she climbed into bed and lay there for a long time, thinking about how happy she was. Finally, for the first time in her life, she could say that she was actually, truly happy and content.

She fell asleep with a smile on her face and Emil in her thoughts.


	5. Uncertainty Defeated

Uncertainty Defeated

(NOTE: This is the fifth story in the Jackie/Emil series and I don't have much to say except I own Jackie and the story. Marvel owns the rest. Unfortunately.)

***

"So Jackie, what went on de other night, huh?" Claude asked.

Jackie stared. The thieves were getting together for a meeting regarding recent actions by the Assassins. The meeting hadn't started yet, as Zoe, Genard and Emil had not arrived.

"What do you mean, Claude?" Jackie asked, knowing full well and not liking it.

"Well, we heard dat Emil spent de night here de other night, an' we were jus' wonderin' what happened, dat's all." Theoren replied in Claude's place. The two men were sitting with Jackie on the couch. Jackie wished she was anywhere else, or that Jean-Luc was around to hear what was being said. However, Jean-Luc, Tante Mattie and Mercy weren't even in the room at the time, so Jackie had nothing to do except face Claude and Theoren's questions.

Jackie took a deep breath. "I had a bad day. I was feelin' like total crap. I asked him to stay wit' me. Dat's it."

"Don' you t'ink it's a little soon for t'ings like dat?" Claude asked cynically. 

When Jackie said nothing, Theoren continued again. "B'sides, has it ever occurred to you dat he's not really interested in you at all, dat he's jus' usin' you? C'mon, kid, t'ink of de age difference…dere's no way he's serious."

Jackie closed her eyes, silently willing the tears that were springing to her eyes to stay where they were. The ache in her heart was almost unbearable. But she couldn't believe that what Theoren was saying was the truth. It couldn't be.

"Dat's not true." Jackie whispered, looking at the two of them, violet pupils glowing dangerously. "He loves me. He said so."

Claude laughed. "If you b'lieve dat, kid, you're delusional."

Fighting back tears, Jackie rose and went to the door. "Tell Papa I'm sorry for leavin', but I' have some t'inkin' to do," she said shortly to the two men sitting on the couch. She left the mansion, shutting the door behind her just as Jean-Luc, Tante Mattie and Mercy came in from the kitchen, carrying refreshments.

"Where's Jackie?" Mercy asked.

"We were talkin' an' she suddenly jus' got up an' left. She said she was sorry, but she had to do some t'inkin'." Theoren explained. Both he and Claude were wearing the most innocent looks they could muster up.

"What did you say to her?" Jean-Luc demanded.

"Not'ing." The two men replied in unison.

Jean-Luc put his hands on his hips. "Yeah. Sure." He said sarcastically before turning to Tante Mattie, who nodded and said,

"I'll go after her. Keep goin' wit' de meetin'. Jackie an' I can get filled in later."

***

Tante Mattie returned to the LeBeau mansion three hours later without Jackie. She had looked everywhere, and the young woman was nowhere to be found. She entered the house and found the rest of the Guild sitting in silence. Zoe, Mercy and Genard looked concerned. Jean-Luc looked furious. Claude and Theoren looked sheepish. Mattie noticed all of that, but what she really noticed was Emil.

Emil was sitting slumped in the armchair, not looking at anyone. He looked like he was ready to cry any second.

Mattie walked over to him and knelt down. "I couldn' find her, Emil." She said softly, breaking the silence in the room.

Sighing deeply, Emil got up and headed out of the room. Before he left, he paused and looked at Theoren and Claude. "I will never forgive you for dis as long as I live. An' if she doesn' come back…" he said warningly.

Jean-Luc followed Emil out into the backyard. Rather than climb the tree, Emil sat at the picnic table. When Jean-Luc sat across from him, Emil said,

"How could dey say dat to her? An' after I told her no one would say anyt'ing 'bout any of it..."

"I don' t'ink she b'lieved any of what dey said, Emil." Jean-Luc replied, trying to reassure the heartbroken and worried thief.

"Den why did she go? Where is she? How come Tante Mattie couldn' find her?" Emil sobbed, letting the tears flow. For the first time in his entire life (well, since the Assassins had killed his family) he felt truly happy and he was scared to death that his idiotic friends had ruined it on him. On_ them_…he knew Jackie felt the same way.

Jean-Luc got up and moved around to sit beside his young friend. He put a hand on Emil's shoulder and said, "I b'lieve she jus' had to t'ink, Emil. Maybe re-evaluate her own feelin's an' de situation itself. She'll be back. I don' t'ink you have to worry 'bout dat."

Emil sighed. "I wish I could b'lieve you, Jean-Luc, but right now, I'm not sure 'bout anyt'ing."

***

Emil wasn't the only person who wasn't sure about things anymore. Jackie sat on a stool in her friend Rene's diner, twirling her sunglasses in her hands.

"What do I do, Rene?" she asked wearily.

Rene leaned over the counter near her. "What does your heart say, Jade?"

"I don' know! Dat's de problem!" Jackie exclaimed in frustration. "De whole t'ing is conflicting an' I don' know what to do."

"Do you b'lieve what dey said was true?" Rene asked.

"Non. It can' be true. I don' t'ink Emil would lie to me, 'specially 'bout somet'ing as important as dat." Jackie told him.

"So why'd you leave, if you didn' b'lieve dem?"

"I guess b'cause what dey said placed some doubts in my head. I don' doubt Emil…I t'ink I doubt myself…"

Rene tilted his head. "Pourquoi? An' what 'xactly are you doubting?"

"I'm not sure…non, dat's not true. I do know." Jackie answered softly. "Rene, what if it doesn' work out? I mean, both Emil an' I are happier now den we've been in a long, long time, mais, wit' de age difference, an' dis foolishness dat Claude an' Theoren keep tryin' to stir up b'tween us…"

"Jade, if everyt'ing you've told me today is true…" Rene began.

"I love him Rene. I love him more den anyt'ing in de whole world," Jackie interrupted, tears welling up in her eyes. "I don' want to lose him, I don' want to lose what we have. An' I'm scared to death dat I'm goin' to."

"If it's meant to be, it will be. Didn' anyone ever tell you dat? You an' Emil have somet'ing special, an' I b'lieve from what you've told me dat what you have is goin' to last a long time." Rene told her firmly.

"So what do I do?"

"Go back to dat mansion, give dose two turkeys hell for doin' dis to you an' tell Emil how you feel. Tell him what you told me here. Don' let Claude an' Theoren ruin dis for you. Be bigger den dey are. Go back."

Jackie sighed and rose. "T'anks Rene. I needed dis talk. No more doubts. No more of dis nonsense. Dey can' win. I won' let dem."

She put on her sunglasses and walked out of the diner, heading back to the LeBeau mansion filled with a new understanding of her feelings and a resolution that she and Emil were going to come out on top.

***

Jackie shut the door of the mansion and walked into the living room. It was some hours since she had left, and as resolved as she was, she was still a little nervous, and she knew she and Emil had some things to talk about.

Jean-Luc was standing by the fireplace, looking at the pictures on the mantle, hands clasped behind his back. His long brown hair was pulled into its customary ponytail and hung straight down his back. He was lost in thought and didn't hear Jackie come in.

"Hi," Jackie said softly, walking over to him.

Jean-Luc turned and faced her, a look of concern on his kind face. He raised his eyebrows. "I wasn' sure you were comin' back."

Jackie looked away. "I'm sorry, Papa. I shouldn' have left, I jus'…I got scared. An' when I get scared, I run."

Jean-Luc's expression softened. "Come here, petite, " he said. Jackie moved closer to him and he wrapped his strong arms around her. "He loves you, Jackie. He loves you more den anyt'ing." 

"I know. I love him too. I'm terrified of losin' him." Jackie whispered.

"He got quite de scare today when you left." Jean-Luc explained. "I t'ink you two should have a talk."

Jackie nodded. "Where is he?"

"In de back yard, probably in de tree. Dat seems to be where everyone in dis guild goes to t'ink or to be alone." Jean-Luc told her.

"T'anks." Jackie replied, heading towards the kitchen. On her way out to the back yard, she stopped at the refrigerator and got a bottle of water. Once at the door, she paused, with her hand on the doorknob, and sighed. The following conversation was not going to be an easy one. This little fiasco was the first thing of the sort to happen to them and it was a little unnerving.

Jackie sighed and opened the door, stepping out into the fading sunlight. With her keen eyesight, she saw Emil in the tree, and silently began to climb up. She chose a branch near him and sat on it, not saying a word. 

They sat on the branches in silence, as it grew dark around them. Finally, Emil spoke.

"Where'd you go?" 

Jackie sighed. "I went to see my friend Rene. I needed someone objective to talk to…"

"Did you b'lieve dem? I mean when I got here, an' found out what dey said to you, an' you were gone…what was I s'posed to t'ink?" Emil asked, his voice laden with the tears he'd been shedding all day.

Jackie sighed. "Non, I didn' b'lieve dem. How could I? How could I possibly doubt you, when you've never given me a reason to? I _can_ doubt myself, t'ough, an' I did, I guess. I'm sorry…I jus' needed to t'ink."

Emil turned and looked at her, his blue eyes filled with sorrow. "So…what now? I mean, I love you. I love you more den anyt'ing else in de world, an' I don' want to lose you. But how do we fix dis?"

Jackie giggled. "I could always go blow up Theoren an' Claude for doin' dis to us."

"I'm serious, Jackie."

"So am I!" Jackie grinned. "Okay, so maybe not. Emil, de t'ing is, I jus' got scared. I kinda started playin' 'What If?' wit' myself an' it spooked me, dat's all."

Emil reached up and took Jackie's face in his hands, making her look at him. "Jackie. Do you love me?"

Jackie looked him directly in the eyes, how she felt about him showing plainly on her face. "Oui. More den anyt'ing. It was de idea dat I might lose you dat scared me so much." She admitted.

Emil sighed with relief and smiled at her. "What do I have to do to convince you, slay a dragon?" he laughed as they climbed down to the ground.

Jackie raised an eyebrow as she waited for him to join her. "Well…"

"Hey." Emil said, pulling her into his arms. "You'll never lose me. Ever."

Their lips met in a slow, deep kiss that made their bodies tingle. Then they walked into the mansion, holding hands and feeling perfectly content with themselves. They had weathered their first little shakeup and felt stronger because of it. It may not have seemed like a big deal to an outsider, but to dem, it was a very big deal.

Jean-Luc smiled when he saw them come in. "Everyt'ing okay?"

Jackie and Emil looked at each other and then back at Jean-Luc. "Everyt'ing's perfect, Jean-Luc." Emil replied. 

"Mais, we can' say we won' continue to be angry wit' Theoren an' Claude for awhile…" Jackie laughed. "Dey gave us quite a scare today an' d'serve to be punished."


	6. A Punishment Well Deserved

A Punishment Well Deserved

(Note: As always, I own Jackie and the story. All the others are the property of Marvel, although quite frankly, I don't think they should be. I've given these Thieves more personality and life than Marvel ever has, therefore, why shouldn't I own them? Ah well. A girl can dream, can't she?)

***

Claude Poitier was beginning to get nervous. He and his friend Theoren Marceaux were being given the silent treatment and it had been going on for two days. They had kind of expected something like this from Emil and Jackie, but what they hadn't expected was what they got.

The entire Guild was ignoring them. Even Jean-Luc was giving them the cold shoulder, even though he still had to talk to them, being the Guild leader and all.

"How long you t'ink dis is goin' to last, Claude?" Theoren asked, joining his best friend on the front stoop of the LeBeau mansion after the Guild meeting was over. The others were all still inside.

"I don' know. I'm kind of worried. I mean, I don' t'ink dis is all dey're goin' to do. I mean I t'ink it might be all Emil does, but not Jackie. She's too much like Remy." Claude replied with a sigh.

"Dear Lord, what if dey bring Remy into dis?" Theoren said softly, his blue eyes widening in fear. Neither of the two elder thieves had ever liked Remy all that much. It wasn't that they hated or feared mutants, they didn't. They were just old fashioned and didn't like change. They were more tolerant of Jackie, almost to the point of being fond of her, but they had a hard time showing it, the same way they had always had a hard time showing the younger thieves how they felt.

"I don' t'ink dey will. Both of dem can take care of demselves, an' dey've already proven dey mean to take care of each other as well." Claude said.

"What do you t'ink dey'll do? Aside from ignoring us, I mean." 

"Dat remains to be seen. Not dat we don' d'serve it…"

"You certainly do d'serve it," Tante Mattie's voice came from behind them. She had been standing in the doorway, listening to them, since they went outside.

The two thieves turned in shock and looked at Tante Mattie with a mix of fear and regret. Mattie sighed and stepped out to join them, shutting the door behind herself.

"We're sorry, Tante…we shouldn' have said what we did." Theoren apologized.

"Dat's right, you shouldn' have. You also shouldn' be apologizin' to me. You didn' hurt me." Mattie said sternly. "Honestly, I don' know what you two were t'inkin'. Why'd you do it, anyway?"

Claude looked down, unable to meet her eyes. "We…I don' know…Tante, why do we always do t'ings like dis?"

"B'cause you're a couple of old fashioned fools who can' bear change, dat's why." Mattie told them. "But I don' t'ink dat's why you did it."

Both men looked at her curiously. "Oh? What do you t'ink den?" Theoren asked.

"You care 'bout dose two more den you let on, don' you?" Mattie asked softly. When they didn't reply, she continued. "You don' want to see either one of dem get hurt, an' you don' want dem to rush t'ings. Dat's why you did it."

"We worry 'bout dem," Claude replied, after thinking of what she said. "You're right in everyt'ing you jus' said an' I guess we jus' don' know how to express ourselves."

"Maybe while everyone's ignorin' you, you should figure it out an' den, when dey start talkin' to you 'gain, you should tell dem. I t'ink dey really need to hear de truth from you two. No games. Try tellin' dem de truth instead of hurtin' dem." Mattie suggested.

"Oui. Dat's a good idea." Theoren said.

"So get t'inkin', an' if dey do or say anyt'ing else to you b'fore you talk, keep in mind dat dey're angry wit' you, an' hurt by what you said. Dey'll get over it."

***

"Dey're getting freaked out 'bout dis…" Emil laughed. He and Jackie were sitting together on the couch in the living room of the LeBeau mansion. Genard, Zoe and Mercy had all gone out into the backyard to play Frisbee, and Jean-Luc had gone to watch them. Claude and Theoren were on the front porch with Tante Mattie.

"Je sais. It's pretty funny." Jackie replied. "But I t'ink dey need to get a little scare of deir own, don' you?"

"What do you have in mind? I'm open to suggestions." Emil said, pulling her closer to him and wondering what she was thinking of doing to the two troublemakers.

Jackie grinned at him with an evil gleam in her eyes. "What do you say to bein' bait for a little lesson I have planned for our dear friends?"

"I'm listenin'," Emil replied, returning the grin.

Speaking quietly, Jackie told Emil of the plan she had. It wasn't much of one if you really thought about it. The Assassins could have done much better…or much worse, depending on how you looked at it. But it involved giving Theo and Claude a scare, and that's what they were going for.

***

Emil went to the door and opened it after seeing that Tante Mattie was gone. Theoren and Claude were standing there. Emil stepped out to join them, with a melancholy look on his face. Claude and Theoren didn't know it, but it was all part of Jackie's plan.

"Well, I hope you guys are happy," Emil said, trying to sound as close to crying as he possibly could, given his urge to laugh hysterically over the whole thing.

"What's wrong?" Theoren asked, turning around. He looked concerned. In spite of how he and Claude behaved, they were really happy that Emil and Jackie had found happiness with each other, and Emil hadn't looked sad once since they expressed how they felt about each other. The fact that Emil was suddenly unhappy didn't sit well with Theo, not at all.

"Oh, it's not'ing." Emil tried to brush it off.

"Not'ing? If it's not'ing, why do you look so unhappy?" Claude inquired. He caught the concerned vibe coming off Theo, and was instantly curious as to what was going on.

"It's jus'…well…I t'ought we had settled everyt'ing from de other day. But I guess I was wrong." Emil replied with a sigh. "Jackie jus'…"

Claude and Theoren looked at each other with alarm. They had not meant for anything bad to happen to the young couple.

"She jus' what?" they asked in unison.

"She told me she didn' t'ink it was goin' to work out b'tween us." Emil explained sadly. He nearly gave the ruse away; his desire to laugh was growing stronger by the second.

"Well, what're you doin' 'bout dat?" Claude wanted to know, exchanging a quick glance with Theoren. Neither of them was happy with this new development.

"What can I do?" Emil demanded. "Not'ing. Dere's not'ing I can do 'cept respect her wishes."

"Is she inside?" Theoren asked, moving towards the door.

"Oui." Emil replied.

"Okay, so come wit' us, we have to talk to her 'bout dis." Claude said.

"Pourquoi? What's de difference? She won' change her mind." Emil replied, managing a more melancholy look and another sigh, so they'd think he was really upset. They took the bait.

"Non, non, non. We have to at least try." Theoren replied, pushing Emil towards the door. It took every ounce of self-control Emil possessed to keep from bursting into laughter on the way back into the mansion.

The only person they saw when they went inside was Jean-Luc. He was sitting in the armchair, smoking a cigarette. He was part of the plan, Emil knew, and he couldn't wait to see how the next segment went.

"Well, I was wondering where you guys were. Jackie's pretty upset." Jean-Luc said, addressing Theoren and Claude, as Emil flopped down on the couch as dejectedly as he could. "You know, I have to admit, I'm really disappointed in de two of you. Dey were happy, den you had to go an' ruin it. Now dey're both miserable. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

"Um…" the two thieves said together, staring at the floor with sheepish looks on their faces.

"Dat's what I t'ought." Jean-Luc said sternly. "You couldn' let well-enough alone, an' look at what happened. You might want to talk to her…to 'both of dem. Jackie's in her room."

"C'mon, Emil." Theoren said. "Let's go see Jackie. We have to talk 'bout dis."

"Whatever." Emil replied, hauling himself off the couch.

***

Emil walked into Jackie's room first, and the two exchanged a quick grin. Theoren and Claude were close behind. It was now time to put the final part of the plan into action. They both knew Theo and Claude were freaked out about the whole thing.

"What do you want?" Jackie demanded from her bed. She was lying there, staring at the ceiling, a few fake tears rolling down her cheeks.

"We need to talk…" Theoren replied. 

"We have not'ing to talk 'bout. I have not'ing to say to de two of you." Jackie said. "An' Emil an' I have already talked."

"Jackie, come on…" Claude said, his voice nearly a whine.

"Look at it dis way, guys, you were right. Be happy." Jackie replied. "I'm sure as hell not, but den 'gain, what do my feelin's matter, or Emil's either for dat matter?"

"Jackie…" Theoren began. Jackie cut him off.

"You know, I don' t'ink I've ever been dis angry at someone b'fore in my life. I can' b'lieve you guys could say t'ings like dat to me. I don' understand why you hate us so much dat you felt it necessary to destroy what we had." Jackie said, her purple eyes glowing. She was only pretending to be angry with the two older men, and she couldn't look at Emil, or else she'd start laughing and ruin everything.

"Jackie, we…" Theoren tried again. Jackie shook her head, glaring at him.

"Don' even start wit' me Theoren. I don' want to hear it," she interrupted. "I don' even know why you came up here. Not'ing you can say can fix it. Give me one good reason why I shouldn' make you pay for what you did."

Theoren and Claude gave each other another look of alarm. They were getting seriously worried over what Jackie was saying. Somehow, they knew she was talking about using her mutant powers against them. 

"We d'serve to be punished, Jackie, we know dat." Claude said quietly.

"You're damned right you do." Jackie replied. Just for fun, she slowly began to kinetically charge Theoren's shirt so they would think she wasn't joking. Soon, both men were staring at the shirt as it glowed pink with energy. Emil almost had to leave the room. The looks on their faces were priceless. 

"Jackie, please!" Theoren exclaimed, begging her to stop.

"Why should she?" Emil asked, speaking for the first time since the guys had joined Jackie. "After what you did, she's goin' easy on you."

"But if de shirt blows, I'm goin' to blow wit' it!" Theoren said. He looked and sounded truly frightened, and Claude did too, once Jackie decided to show him a thing or two as well. She began to charge his shirt as well. 

When they were satisfied that the two men were well and truly horrified by what was happening, Jackie suddenly stopped charging the shirts. Then, she and Emil finally let loose the laughter they'd been holding in since the whole thing began.

***

"What de…?" Claude said, gasping. He and Theoren couldn't for the life of them figure out what was so funny, or what was going on. Jean-Luc appeared in the doorway.

"Are you two sorry yet?" He asked.

"OUI!" they exclaimed in unison.

"Very well. Den _now_ you guys can talk. De game's over."

"Huh? What game…?" Theoren wanted to know. Jean-Luc merely smiled and left. When Emil and Jackie stopped laughing, they sat together on the bed and looked at their friends with devilish grins on their faces.

"De game dat's been played since Emil went outside to get you guys." Jackie said. 

"You mean dis whole t'ing was a joke?" Claude said, confused.

"Yep. We planned all of it," Emil affirmed, taking Jackie's hand in his. We're closer den ever, we jus' wanted you guys to pay for what you did de other day. We wanted you to get a scare." 

"It worked." Theoren confided. "I don' t'ink I've ever been as scared as I was a few minutes ago. Actually, dis whole t'ing was scary. We didn' mean for it to go as far as it did."

"So, why'd you do it? I mean, if you didn' mean de t'ings you said to me de other day, why say dem? Why not jus' be honest wit' us, like you should've been?" Jackie asked.

"De truth? We're worried 'bout you. We're happy for you, we're glad you've found happiness wit' each other, we jus' worry dat one or both of you will get hurt." Claude explained. "I guess we jus' wanted you both to t'ink 'bout what you're doin', so dat you don' do somet'ing you might regret later, you know?"

Jackie and Emil nodded. They understood what Claude was saying. "But why didn' you jus' tell us dat?" Emil questioned.

"Aw, Red, you know us, you know we don' 'xpress ourselves all dat well." Theoren replied. "But we are sorry. We didn' mean for it to get out of hand. I agree wit' what Claude said. Dat is why we did it. It wasn' s'posed to end de way it did."

"But it did." Jackie said softly. "I mean, we worked it out, but it could jus' as easily have gone de other way. Den how would you have felt? I know you two told Emil a few days ago dat you're behind us an' you s'port us, mais, I didn' really get dat vibe from you de other day when you were talkin' to me."

Theoren sighed. "We would have felt horrible. Like Claude said, we jus' want you to consider everyt'ing, all your options. T'ink 'bout what you're doin' b'fore you do it. We care 'bout you guys a lot. We don' want to see you get hurt. We're sorry."

"We forgive you, but can you promise us somet'ing?" Emil asked seriously, but with a smile on his face.

"Sure, what?" Claude asked.

"Next time you want us to know you're concerned, please don' play games wit' us. Jus' tell us, straight out, we won' be mad. We were angrier dat you chose to screw around wit' us instead of jus' tellin' us what was on your mind."

"Fair enough." Theoren agreed, while Claude nodded. "Can you promise us somet'ing too?"

"Okay…" Jackie said.

"Be careful, take care of each other, an' don' let anyt'ing take what you have from you. Your relationship is special, an' none of de rest of us in de Guild want to see anyt'ing happen to dat. Henri an' Mercy had it, but de Assassins destroyed it. We are goin' to do everyt'ing we can to make sure neither dey nor anyone else does de same to you." Theoren replied.

"T'anks you guys," Emil said. "We'll be careful. An' we appreciate everyt'ing you've said."

"Can we go now?" Claude asked. "I, for one, want to go ask Jean-Luc why he helped you do dis little prank on us."

Jackie and Emil laughed. "Yeah go ahead. We won' stop you." Jackie said.

***

"Dat went well," Jackie giggled when the door had shut behind Theo and Claude.

"It did." Emil replied, shoving her down on the bed with a grin. He pinned her down and kissed her deeply, abruptly stopping her giggles.

The kiss grew more intense and passionate, there was only one thought in Jackie's mind and when the kiss ended, she breathed the words softly to him, 

"I don' t'ink dey have to worry 'bout us…"

"Nope…" Emil whispered in reply before kissing her again, thrilling to the feel of her body underneath him. He thought of how beautiful she was, and how glad he was that Claude and Theoren's game hadn't worked. 


	7. A Night to Remember

A Night to Remember

(NOTE: Here is the seventh story in the series. As always, Jackie is mine. Emil is not mine. What Jackie and Emil do is mine, but only because I'm writing what they're telling me to write. It's not like I have any control over this. Oh, and this story is rated NC-17 for a reason, folks! But hopefully, it's a romantic, tasteful and well-written reason!)

***

'Wow, dis is amazin'!' Jackie thought. She and Emil, who, she would argue, was the best kisser in the entire world, had been kissing for what seemed like hours, ever since Claude and Theo had left them.

Okay, so it hadn't actually been hours. Seriously, it wasn't more than twenty minutes. If it _had_ been hours, their lips would've gotten awfully sore.

Taking a breather (which they both agreed was a great idea), Emil whispered,

"Chere, can I tell you somet'ing?"

"Sure," Jackie replied, silently wondering if she was supposed to be feeling the way she felt or if it was abnormal.

"I want you so bad right now I can' t'ink straight," Emil admitted. He really couldn't help the way he was feeling. She was beautiful. He loved her. She loved him. And his desire to have absolutely nothing separating them was growing stronger by the second.

Jackie raised an eyebrow and gave him a slow, quirky smile. "What's stoppin' you?"

Emil blinked slowly, not believing what he'd just heard. "Um…" he faltered. "You, maybe…?"

Jackie almost laughed. Almost. He was pinning her down, and she didn't think she was really in a position to laugh at him. She realized what her feelings were and it occurred to her that she wanted him too.

"Newsflash, mon amour; I'm not sure you got de memo, mais, I'm not about to stop you."

Emil blinked again. "You do know what I'm talkin' 'bout, right?"

Jackie nodded. "Oui," she grinned before turning serious. "Emil, I love you. Kissing you makes me feel all tingly an' like I could fly if I tried to. It's an amazin' feelin' an' I want to see where it can go."

Emil rolled over, lying on his side beside her. Propping his head up in his hand, he asked, "Are you sure, chere? I mean, you have to be. We both do. You get a big say in dis too."

Jackie turned her head to face him and whispered firmly, "Oui. I'm sure."

Emil reached up with his free hand and lightly ran his fingertips across her cheek, marveling (not for the first time) at how soft her skin was. He found himself wondering if the rest of her body was like silk to touch as well.

Jackie almost shuddered as his fingers touched her face, but it wasn't a bad shudder. She closed her eyes briefly and let out a small sigh of longing and desire. 'Oh man, do I have it bad or what?' she asked herself with a mental grin. She did have it bad, but so did Emil, so she didn't care.

"At de risk of b'comin' our least favorite person right now," Emil said, ignoring the voice in his head that was screaming at him to shut up. "Can I make a small suggestion?"

Jackie leaned over and kissed him firmly and deeply. When the kiss ended she answered his question,

"Yep. What is it?"

Emil blinked several times, the voice in his head screaming even louder at him and his desire almost uncontainable. He hoped she wouldn't be upset, but he had an idea and wanted to act on it.

"Well, I don' t'ink we should do dis right here, right now," he began, watching her sharply. "I mean we jus' had dat fiasco wit' Claude an' Theo, an' b'sides, I want to make dis special, for both of us."

"What do you have in mind?" Jackie asked, a smile playing across her fine features. She liked where this was going even if it wasn't going to bring any instant gratification. Not yet at any rate.

"I'm suggestin' you come by my apartment in an hour. You'll find out de rest den," Emil returned the smile.

"An hour, huh? I can do dat." Jackie confirmed. "I'm rather curious…"

"Sorry. I'm not sayin' another word. I'll see you in an hour." Emil replied, kissing her softly, then getting up and leaving before he changed his mind.

***

"Genard!" Emil yelled, slamming the door of the apartment he and his best friend shared.

Genard poked his head out of his bedroom and, shoving his glasses up on his nose, he squinted at Emil and asked,

"What? An' I ain' deaf, mon ami."

"I know, sorry. Look, c'mere an' help me, okay? I got less den an hour 'fore she gets here." Emil replied, rummaging through the cupboards and drawers in the kitchen for some candles that hadn't been used as weapons in mock swordfights. "Oh, an' could you be invisible by eight, please?"

Genard tilted his head like a confused puppy, watching his friend running around, setting up candles, dimming lights, putting different CDs in the stereo, and straightening up the apartment. And if Genard were in a Bugs Bunny cartoon, a yellow light bulb would have suddenly appeared above his head as he realized what was going on.

"Ah…" he said knowingly. "Yeah, I can be gone by eight…what time am I allowed to come home, Oh Great One? An' you probably should've said two hours, not one. You _are_ goin' to feed her a nice romantic dinner, aren' you?"

Emil stopped in his tracks and looked at his friend, an expression of pure horror on his face. Before he could say a word, Genard started laughing.

"Red, relax. You take care of de rest of it, I'll handle de food."

"Oh, t'ank you, t'ank you, t'ank you, t'ank you, t'ank you!" Emil exclaimed, sounding very relieved.

So, while Emil organized the apartment in record time, Genard threw together some of his infamous (in the Guild anyway) spaghetti with homemade meat sauce. He was going to make garlic bread, but decided it might not be such a good idea.

They didn't notice how quickly the time was passing until Genard's watch beeped at eight o'clock. At the same time, the doorbell rang.

Both men froze for a second, a look of panic on Emil's face. "You were s'posed to be gone by now!" he hissed.

'Hey, I made you food!" Genard hissed back before continuing normally as he put on his jacket. "De spaghetti's on de stove, give it five more minutes. I'll be back as late as I can, I promise."

"T'ank you," Emil mouthed as Genard opened the door.

Out in the hallway, Jackie was ready to scream. She was nervous and expectant at the same time and it was driving her crazy. 'I wonder if Emil feels de same way?' she wondered silently as the door opened.

"Hello…and goodbye!" Genard joked, holding the door open so she could go inside. "You two kiddies have fun an' don' do anyt'ing de rest of de world wouldn' do!"

As Genard waited for the elevator, wondering what he was going to do with himself for the next few hours, he thought, "Man, it must be nice…"

***

  
"Somet'ing sure smells good!" Jackie commented as Emil hung her coat up in the closet. Jackie surveyed the apartment with a smile, thinking how nice it looked for a place where two men lived.

"Dat would be de spaghetti," Emil replied, hitting the play button on the stereo's remote and lighting some of the candles. He gestured at the beautifully set table with a smile. "Would you care to join me?"

"I'd love to!" Jackie replied, beaming with pleasure over the fact that he held her chair out for her. He always treated her like she was a queen, and she reveled in it.

***

They kept their talk light during dinner, each of them spending most of the meal lost in their own thoughts. If there'd been a telepath nearby, he or she would have heard more than was really necessary from the two rather turned-on Cajun thieves.

When they'd finished eating and put the dishes in the sink to soak, they sat on the couch in silence, exchanging smiles with each other.

'Man, you'd swear we were in high school or somet'ing!' Emil thought. He was rather amused by their behavior, especially his own. The whole experience so far was slightly nerve-wracking but also very exhilarating. He felt like he was walking on air, and nothing had even happened yet.

"Dinner was wonderful, Emil," Jackie told him, wondering if his thoughts and heart were racing as madly as hers were.

"I won' take de credit for somet'ing I didn' do," Emil replied. "Genard made it."

"It's okay…" Jackie smiled, deciding to be just a little bit forward. "I didn' come for de food anyway." She said, reaching up and, as he had done before, running her fingers lightly along his face. Her smile widened as she felt his body tremble at her touch.

Emil reached over and took her into his arms, pulling her closer to him. Hearts pounding, they slowly began kissing, gently at first, then more deeply and passionately. And this time, they didn't stop for a long time; instead choosing to let the feelings flow to see where they went.

***

They were still kissing when Emil, wanting her so badly he almost couldn't see, picked Jackie up in his strong arms and carried her into his bedroom, where more candles were lit, and incense was burning, giving the room a most enticing effect.

The kiss was broken as Emil gently laid Jackie on the bed and then joined her, stretching out beside her.

"Any rules?" Jackie asked softly, reaching up and running her fingers through his thick red hair.

Emil pondered the question for a moment. It was a weird one for them both. Being thieves, most rules were made to be broken. It was unheard of for them to be considering rules to actually follow. Finally, Emil spoke.

"Well, I'm as new to dis as you are, mais, it seems to me dat if either one of us feels de need to stop at anytime, we should be able to do so, no questions asked."

Jackie smiled. "I can live wit' dat," she replied, wondering what came next. Then she almost laughed at herself for being so stupid. 'Getting rid of dese foolish clothes might help!' she thought.

As if he read her mind, Emil kissed her tenderly and asked, "How do you want to do dis?"

Jackie grinned and replied, "Use your imagination!"

Emil started laughing. Upon seeing her confused look, he explained. "Maybe you better use yours. De only t'ing I can t'ink of is strip poker, an' I don' t'ink…!"

Jackie giggled. "Not tonight…but we may have to do dat sometime!" She thought for a minute and concluded that Emil's imagination had taken hers and gone on vacation somewhere, possibly the moon. However, she thought it might be fun to undress him, so she did.

She got up and sat on her knees by him, rolling him over onto his back. She slowly unbuttoned his shirt, then helped him shrug out of it. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head as he pulled off the T-shirt he was wearing and she saw how well toned he was. He was very fit, and looked like a god without a shirt on.

'Hel-lo!' she thought and nearly giggled. She pushed her thoughts aside and kept going at the task at hand. Knowing he must be going crazy, she slowly unbuttoned his jeans and pulled down the zipper, inadvertently touching him in a tender place.

Emil's breathing suddenly started coming quickly and he shut his eyes for a second in an attempt to keep control of himself.

Meanwhile, Jackie had pulled off his jeans and socks. As he opened his eyes, Jackie's hands were lightly moving along the waistband of his boxer shorts. She gently took them off him and found herself blushing slightly at the sight of the handsome, sexy and very naked man in front of her.

'Wow…' she thought, becoming somewhat breathless in a matter of seconds. She hadn't realized that the mere sight of him would make her feel quite the way it did. If a man could be called beautiful by the woman who loved him, then in the eyes of Jackie LeBeau, Emil Lapin was beautiful.

Jackie suddenly felt overdressed. Smiling at Emil she lightly ran her hand along the shaft of his penis before lying back down beside him and saying, "Your turn."

Emil was in no condition to get up and do anything, or so he thought. He had gasped, his entire body trembling, when she touched him, and he didn't think he could move, until the voice in his head told him she'd probably do it again if he undressed her first. That got him moving again.

Like Jackie had done, Emil started out at the top and worked his way down, first unbuttoning her purple and green flannel shirt and taking it off her. She wore a white tank top under it and Emil was happy to see she was not wearing a bra under it.

"Did you plan dis?" he asked with a somewhat relieved chuckle. Women's bras were a mystery to him.

Jackie nodded. "Figured you wouldn' want to have to deal with tryin' to unhook it."

"T'ank you." He replied, pulling the tank top over her head to reveal her small, perky breasts. That was one of the things he liked about her. She was normal and didn't see the need to try to be like a model or one of the women on Baywatch. Or even the other women she knew.

Emil found himself feeling lightheaded, almost intoxicated. He wondered why, until he remembered reading somewhere that each woman had her own particular scent. It was Jackie's scent (he couldn't place just what she smelled like, but he knew she was the best thing he'd ever smelled in his life) as well as what was happening, that was making him lightheaded.

Emil paused for a moment, taking in the beautiful sight in front of him before continuing. Gently, he undid her jeans and took them off her, taking her socks off at the same time. He was amazed and fascinated to learn she was wearing a thong. He also couldn't get over her shapely body, especially her hips. He hadn't noticed them before, because she wasn't really fond of tight clothing.

Emil smiled softly as he gently removed Jackie's thong, still curious as to how women could wear the things. 'How can dey possibly be comfortable in dese t'ings?' he wondered to himself. 'It can' be comfortable, feelin' like you've got a permanent wedgie. Ugh.'

Instead of actually asking Jackie how women did it, Emil lay down close beside her silently, the smile still playing across his lips. He reached over and, using his fingertips, gently traced down Jackie's slim body, beginning at her collarbone and ending at her hips.

Jackie shivered as he did this, but she wasn't cold. It was just a reaction to his touch.

Hoping to get some attention of his own, Emil lightly ran his fingers along her breasts, memorizing every contour as he did so. Jackie's breath came faster and she groaned with pleasure as he touched her. She smiled and groaned again when he tweaked her nipples softly, wondering when she had died and gone to heaven.

Jackie wasn't entirely sure what she was doing or how she was doing it. Somehow, her hands had minds of their own and soon it was Emil who was groaning with pleasure as she alternately squeezed his balls and rubbed his penis.

Their bodies were trembling, every sense, every nerve, was alive as they experienced each new sensation. Emil reached down with his free hand and gently started rubbing her clit and tracing along the opening of her vagina with his fingertips, smiling as she almost writhed at the touch. Like Jackie, Emil had no clear idea of what he was doing, he was just following his instincts. It seemed to be working.

"Are you okay?" Emil asked, feeling as if he was never going to be able to breathe properly again.

"Oui." Jackie replied just as breathlessly. "You?"

"I'm fine," Emil said, almost laughing. 'Understatement of de year!' he thought as they continued to explore each other's bodies.

Overcome by the passion flowing between them, they began kissing, amazed at just how intense it could be. Neither one of them had ever experienced anything quite like what they were experiencing right then and were both feeling rather dizzy.

"Emil?" Jackie whispered softly, breaking the kiss so she could speak.

"Oui, chere?" he replied, trying to catch his breath but not succeeding.

"Make love to me." Jackie requested, absently wondering why she wasn't embarrassed by the phrase.

Emil nodded, taking a couple of seconds to put on a condom ('Better to be safe den sorry,' he thought) before positioning himself between her spread legs.

As much as he wanted what they were about to do, Emil was scared to death of hurting Jackie so he went slowly, leaning over and kissing her softly before continuing.

They both groaned as he entered her, slowly and carefully so as not to hurt her. The smile on her face and the whimpers of pleasure coming from her assured him that she was fine. He felt like he was on top of the world--in spite of the sensations being dulled a bit by the condom, he could still feel the whole experience and it was wonderful.

Neither one of them made many sounds, save for heavy breathing and a few groans. They were already so much in synch with each other that they found a rhythm fairly quickly in spite of it being their first time.

Finally, after what seemed like a blissful eternity, they cried out in unison as they came, her muscles constricting and contracting around his penis as it pulsated, filling the condom.

Flushed and panting, they collapsed in each other's arms.

"So dat's what heaven feels like…" Jackie said, running her fingers along his chest.

"Yep, I guess so…Chere?"

"Oui?"

"I love you."

They both smiled. "I love you too." Jackie replied, snuggling closer against him, cherishing how good she felt.

Pulling the covers up so they wouldn't get cold ('As if!' Jackie thought), the two lovers curled up in each other's arms and fell asleep with smiles of contentment on their faces.

***

Genard returned home a few hours later, having spent the evening playing Pictionary with Jean-Luc, Mercy, Zoe, Theoren and Claude. He'd had a great time, but part of that was probably the fact that he, Jean-Luc and Zoe had won two of the three games they'd played.

Genard smiled at the empty pot of spaghetti and was glad they'd enjoyed it. He went around the apartment, turning off the stereo and blowing out candles. Hearing no sound comin from Emil's room, he dared to peek in at the couple.

The incense had long since burnt out but could still smell it. Before blowing out the candles, he took a quick glance at Jackie and Emil. They looked peaceful and happy together, and Genard correctly assumed they had had a good night as well. Smiling again, he blew out the candles and left the room, shutting the door behind himself.

Turning off the lights and heading into his own room to do some reading before bed, Genard sighed contentedly, and thought, 'It's nice to see someone in dis Guild be happy 'gain. An' if anyone d'serves to be happy, it's dose two."


	8. Defensive Measures

Defensive Measures

(NOTE: Are you getting as sick of these notes as I am? Ah well. They have to be written. Jackie and the story are mine. No one else is, unfortunately, although I would give just about anything to own 'em all.)

***

Emil woke up the next morning and, seeing Jackie cuddled up against him, smiled with contentment. She looked so peaceful and happy…Emil decided he would be perfectly satisfied to stay there with her forever. Except for one thing. 

His arm was asleep. Because Jackie had used it as a pillow, his entire arm was now tingling, like someone was sticking pins and needles in it. He squeezed his hand into a fist and tried slowly moving his arm to get the feeling back into it, all the while trying not to scream in pain.

"Oyeee…" he whimpered softly, clenching his teeth. He'd forgotten how painful the experience was and tried to remind himself that he'd endure anything for Jackie, even having this happen every single day for the rest of his life.

His stirring woke Jackie and she looked at him curiously. "What's wrong?" she whispered, tilting her head up to look at him.

Emil unclenched his teeth and managed to grin through his pain. "Arm's asleep," he whispered back. "Hurts like hell."

Jackie laughed briefly and then leaned up to kiss him softly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn' use your arm as a pillow like dat…"

"Oh it's okay. I'd endure dis an' much more for as long as I live, jus' for you." Emil replied, returning the kiss. As they kissed, there was a sudden knock at the door.

They broke the kiss and Emil glared at the door. "What is it, Genard?" He asked with a deep sigh.

The door opened a bit and Genard poked his head inside the room with a sheepish grin. "Sorry, guys. I wouldn' have done dis under any normal circumstances, mais Jean-Luc jus' called. Dere's a Guild meetin' in half an hour. De Assassins're up to somet'ing."

"Ohhhhhh…" Jackie groaned. "Why now?"

Genard shrugged from the doorway. "I dunno. I'm jus' doin' like he asked me to an' lettin' you know."

When Genard left them so they could get ready in peace, Jackie asked, "Do we have to go?"

Emil raised an eyebrow. "What do you t'ink?"

"I t'ink I asked a dumb question…" Jackie replied, tying her sneakers up.

Emil laughed. "Not so dumb, really, you jus' woke up, after all," he replied as she headed for the door. He reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her close to him. "Not so fast…" he whispered, kissing her deeply and tenderly. They remained that way until Genard knocked on the door again.

"C'mon, guys, we're goin' to be late!" he called through the door.

***

"Okay, Papa, dis had better be good," Jackie laughed as everyone took their places in the LeBeau living room.

Jean-Luc raised an eyebrow at her and Emil with a quirky smile. "Why? Did I interrupt somet'ing?"

The entire Guild looked at them with expectant looks on their faces. All of them except Genard, who already knew what had gone on the night before. 

'Why, oh why did I say anyt'ing?' Jackie thought, not looking any of them in the eye. Emil slumped down in his seat beside her and said quietly,

"Jus' get on wit' dis, Jean-Luc."

As the others laughed lightly, Jean-Luc replied with a nod, "Point taken. Okay. I got a heads-up from Mattie earlier dat de Assassins are plannin' a hit on one of us in de near future."

"Any idea who?" Theoren asked, a look of concern on his face that was mirrored in the faces of the other Guild members. 

Jean-Luc sighed. "Yeah…me."

"Why?" Zoe demanded, shocked. The others didn't share her feelings…they all knew how much Marius Boudreaux wanted Jean-Luc dead, even Jackie knew that.

"It doesn't matter, Zoe." Mercy replied. "De point is, dey're goin' to try an' kill him, an' it's our job to make sure dey don'."

"We can handle it," Claude said. " None of us leaves dis house unless you do. If you do, we follow. An' if dey attack, we fight. It's dat simple." The rest of the Guild nodded and murmured in agreement.

"Sounds like a plan." Jackie voiced the opinion of them all.

Jean-Luc shook his head, his ponytail swinging down his back. "Do you really t'ink I'd jeopardize you all like dat?"

"Why not, if it's our choice?" Theoren wanted to know. Theoren was Jean-Luc's right hand thief, the one who got to be in charge of the Guild if Jean-Luc left town for something.

"Would _you_ do it?" Jean-Luc asked, facing Theoren directly, looking into his friend's eyes.

Theo looked down. "I…uh…" he stammered.

"You wouldn'. De point is, none of us would. We're a fam'ly, an' people don' go 'round puttin' de lives of deir fam'ly in danger." Jean-Luc pointed out.

"De other point is, people also don' jus' stand by an' watch if one of de people in deir fam'ly is in trouble. Especially a fam'ly like dis one." Emil replied. "I agree with dem. We're in dis together."

"Claude's plan stands, den." Theoren decided. "No one will ever be able to say de New Orleans T'ieves Guild didn' stick together when it counted."

***

"Dis is getting ridiculous, people." Jean-Luc complained. "I feel like I've got seven baby-sitters. I don' _need_ even one of dose, let alone seven! I'm a grown man…hell, I'm older den all of you!"

The seven members of the Guild had been staying at the LeBeau mansion for five days, and it was starting to get to Jean-Luc. He appreciated the concern his thieves were showing for his life, but the idea that they refused to leave his house for even a second unless he was going out himself was a bit much.

"Papa, we've been over dis b'fore," Jackie reminded him. "We don' want de Assassins to succeed, so we all have to stay wit' you, not jus' me an' Mercy."

Jean-Luc sighed. "I know, ma fille, mais, it's a bit frustratin' for me."

"We know dat, Papa. We really do. We're jus' concerned. You can' blame us for dat, can you?"

"Non, chere, I can'. But I have to go get groceries today, an' are all seven of you goin' to come wit' me?"

"Probably." Jackie replied. "De group can' protect you if de group ain' dere."

"What if not'ing happens?" Jean-Luc asked.

"Don' play what if, Papa. We can' take chances."

"I know. Get de others. We may as well get dis over wit'."

***

Jean-Luc, Jackie and Mercy went into the grocery store, while the rest of the Guild hung around in the shadows outside the store, keeping an eye open for trouble. They watched and waited, but nothing unusual occurred until the three LeBeau's were coming outside the store.

Out of the corner of her eye, Zoe saw something that didn't look right. She knew the exact position of her fellow Guild-members, and this shadow didn't represent any of them. She whistled softly so that the guys would hear her and when they looked, she nodded in the direction of the suspicious shadow. They sat and waited, unsure of what was going to happen. Emil got Jackie's attention and gave her a heads-up on the new shadow.

Mercy started the car while Jean-Luc and Jackie loaded the groceries into the trunk. When Jean-Luc closed the trunk, chaos ensued. A loud shot rang out from the area of where the other shadow was, directly towards Jean-Luc. Jackie, because she was aware of what was going on, pushed her father out of the way, but not quickly enough. The bullet caught Jean-Luc's right shoulder and he stumbled. 

As this went on, the thieves sprung into action. Mercy and Jackie took care of Jean-Luc, while Zoe and the four guys moved to go after the shooter. The shooter, before taking off, saw that Jean-Luc hadn't been hurt badly and took another shot at him, but this time, in his hurry, he missed his intended target. Instead, the bullet struck Jackie in the lower side, causing her to fall to the ground in pain.

The five thieves raced after the shooter in hot pursuit. Because there were five of them and only one of him, they were able to overtake him quickly, a few blocks from the store. 

"Fifolet!" Claude yelled at the sight of the assassin.

Seeing himself surrounded by five angry thieves, Fifolet weighed his options and after wasting the rest of his bullets trying to shoot them all, he just stood there. There really wasn't much else he could do.

"Marius put you up to dat?" Theoren demanded, his tone cold.

"What do you t'ink, Marceaux? Marius wants Jean-Luc dead. You all know dat as well as I do." Fifolet replied.

"Give us three good reasons why we shouldn't beat de crap outta you, den." Genard commented.

"I don' have any."  
"Dat's what we t'ought." Claude replied with a grin.

The thieves weren't violent people. They didn't like hurting others, and they took every chance they got not to. But the assassins were their enemies, and had been for a very long time. They didn't see the assassins as normal people, they saw them as people who had killed many of the people they loved over the years. With that in mind, knowing that if a message wasn't sent to Marius to back off, they attacked Fifolet and gave him a beating he wouldn't soon forget. 

When it was over, Theoren said, "You go back to Marius an' de rest of dem an' make sure dey understand dat dey're not to try dis 'gain. We won' put up wit' it."

***

When the five thieves got back to the grocery store parking lot, they found Jean-Luc's arm bandaged up with the sleeve of Mercy's shirt. Jackie was still on the ground, and Mercy was alternately trying to keep her calm and stop the bleeding.

"It was Fifolet," Theoren told Jean-Luc as they walked over. Before Jean-Luc had a chance to reply, Emil saw Jackie on the ground and, understandably, panicked. 

"Jackie!" He exclaimed in horror, kneeling down beside his girlfriend. "Merce, what happened?"

Mercy looked grim. "De second shot missed Jean-Luc and hit Jackie. I don' t'ink it's as bad as it seems, mais, I can' really tell, b'cause she's bleedin' pretty bad. I can' get it to stop. We need to get dem both to Tante Mattie, as soon as possible."

"I'll drive," Claude said as Emil and Theoren helped Jackie up and into the car. Jackie passed out from the pain and the stress and ended up spending the entire drive home to the LeBeau mansion leaning against Emil, who continually smoothed her hair and whispered for her to hang on. Theoren spent the drive ripping up every piece of fabric he could get his hands on in an attempt to stop the bleeding from Jackie's side.

***

"Take her into her bedroom," Tante Mattie instructed. Genard had called her from the car's cell phone to tell her what had happened and to ask her to meet them all at the mansion. She was waiting for them when they arrived, with the front door opened. Emil and Theoren did as they were told, while Mattie took a quick look at Jean-Luc's arm.

"Dis will be fine…I will look at it later, right now I have to take care of de petite." She told him. Jean-Luc nodded.

"We can' get de bleedin' to stop, Tante." Theoren said. Emil sat by the side of the bed in silence, holding Jackie's hand. He was worried beyond all measure. 

"I should be able to." Mattie responded. "All of you, out. Except for Emil, of course. De rest of you please go keep Jean-Luc comp'ny until I get Jackie out of danger."

Emil looked up at Tante Mattie from his seat, an expression of fear and worry in his blue eyes. Behind that, though, there was hope. Emil knew how good a healer she was, he knew if anyone could help Jackie, it was Mattie. So he had hope that she would succeed and that Jackie would be okay in the end.

"I'll do everyt'ing in my power an' maybe a little more to make her better, chil'. I promise." Mattie said quietly. She glanced at him quickly and saw that his hands, holding Jackie's hand between them, were shaking and as he closed his eyes and bent his head in prayer, she silently went to work on taking care of Jackie, knowing that God was there to help her. To help_ them_.


	9. The Wait

The Wait

(NOTE: Jackie is mine. The story is mine. All the rest is Marvel's. Unfortunately. LOL.)

***

Three hours later, Tante Mattie looked up to find Emil sitting there, holding Jackie's hand in one of his, and propping his head up with the other. He looked tired and worried. He hadn't spoken one word for the entire time they'd been in there, and while the hope that had been in his eyes before was still there, it was being overshadowed by his silent fear and uneasiness over the situation.

Even though Mattie was a very gifted healer, better than any doctor trained in medical school, she had actually spent the past three hours attempting to get the bullet out of Jackie's side. For the past three hours, Jackie had been unconscious, and Mattie was secretly worried about the girl. There was really no reason for her to still be out cold, but she was. Not that Mattie would have told Emil that.

With an almost non-existent sigh, Mattie decided to stop what she was doing for a few minutes. She moved over to the other side of the bed and put a hand on Emil's hunched shoulder. He was shaking slightly. He looked up at her at the touch and she smiled slightly at him.

"Come over here for a minute, chil'." She told him. It might have seemed weird to an outsider that the woman was calling a grown man "child", but to the members of the Guild, it wasn't weird at all. After all, Tante Mattie was well over one hundred years old and many people were still children in her eyes even though they really were not.

Emil nodded and followed her over to the window, tears forming in his eyes. "I'm scared, Tante," he whispered.

Mattie looked at him and saw how fragile he looked, almost like he would shatter if someone touched him. She knew, however, that was not the case, and wrapped her arms around him. "I know, Emil, I know." She said in return as the tears flowed down his cheeks. She sighed again and said, "Dis is gon' take awhile, chil'. I can' give any instant results, unfortunately, much as I'd like to be able to. Maybe you should take a break an' go sit wit' de others for awhile?"

Emil pulled away from her slightly and wiped the tears off his face with the sleeve of his shirt. "Non." He sniffed. "I'm not leavin' her side, I don' care how long it takes."

Mattie nodded as they moved back over to the bedside. Emil resumed his place in the chair by Jackie, and took her hand in his again. Mattie went to the other side of the bed and continued her healing work.

***

"I wonder how it's goin'." Mercy wondered aloud. She and the rest of the Guild had been sitting in the living room for hours and aside from changing Jean-Luc's bandages from time to time, they really had nothing to do except sit there and wait. None of them felt a bit like doing anything else. They were all worried about Jackie's condition.

"Mattie will save her, or die tryin', Merce. We all know dat." Claude commented in response. "Personally, _I'm _wonderin' how Emil's doin'."

"God, if we're worried, he must be b'side himself…" Genard said. "Maybe we should go ask him if he wants to come join us for a bit?"

Theoren shook his head. "He wouldn' come. I have a feelin' he's gon' stay up dere until she's okay. We'd be wastin' our time."

"She'll be okay, right?" Zoe asked. "I mean I don't know Tante as well as you guys do, but she _can_ make Jackie better, can't she?"

"It's like Claude said, Zoe. She'll do it or die tryin'. An' chances are, she'll succeed." Jean-Luc replied. He was very worried about Jackie, but he trusted his old friend and her powers. He believed what he said with all his heart.

***

As the hours drifted slowly by, Tante Mattie's apprehension grew, but she refused to show it. She was working as much magic as she could to heal Jackie and as far as she could tell, it wasn't working. The wound itself had been healed with no problems. But Jackie still wouldn't wake up. It was this that had Mattie concerned.

'Tell me what to do, Lord, to save dis chil'.' She thought, looking as always to the Good Man Above for assistance.

Emil noticed her pause and tilted his head, looking at her questioningly. "What is it, Tante?"

Mattie frowned. "De wound has healed, Emil. She should have woken up by now. I can' t'ink of why she hasn'."

Emil returned the frown. It deepened on his face as an idea came to his mind. "Tante, you don' s'pose de bullet was poisoned, do you? Or cursed? Would dat explain it?"

"It would." Mattie replied with a grim smile. "De one Jean-Luc was shot wit' wasn', obviously, b'cause not'ing has happened to him. Mais, Fifolet could have put a curse on de one dat got Jackie b'fore he shot it…it _was_ meant for Jean-Luc after all."

"An' can you counteract de curse?" Emil asked anxiously, the hope returning to his pale face.

"I can try. I don' know what kind of curse he used."

"Please do." Emil requested softly, his voice barely above a whisper. He was so scared of losing Jackie that he would have tried anything to save her. 

For the next several hours, Tante Mattie tried every spell and counter-spell she could find or think of. Nothing worked. As the hours dragged by, taking them late into the night, both she and Emil were beginning to lose hope again. As they at in silence, there was a knock at the door.

The door opened to reveal Jean-Luc and Theoren, who entered at Mattie's beckoning. Theo went over and stood behind Emil, giving the younger man's shoulder a supportive squeeze. Emil looked up at his friend and gave him a sad but grateful smile. Jackie was getting worse, he knew it. That knowledge showed plainly on his face, and, seeing the expression, Theo sighed sadly. He had a feeling that if Jackie died, Emil would never get over it. 

"Are you feelin' alright, mon ami?" Mattie asked Jean-Luc, who joined her on the other side of the bed. 

Jean-Luc nodded. "Oui, I'm fine. Arm's sore, but dat's de least of my worries. She's not getting better, is she?"

Mattie frowned sadly. "Non. De wound has been healed, but she won' wake up. We t'ink maybe de bullet was cursed, but I've tried everyt'ing to counteract it, an' not'ing is workin'. I don' know what to do now. De only t'ing I can see dat we can do is sit an' wait for her to either pull out of dis on her own or die."

Upon hearing this, Emil buried his face in his hands and leaned against Theo, sobbing quietly. He wasn't oblivious to the idea that Jackie might die, he had known all along that it could happen. It had happened so many times to so many other Thieves, his own family included. But knowing it didn't make the pain stop.

"Please, God…" he whispered softly. 

***

"I have an idea, mais, I don' know if it will work." Jean-Luc said, after spending a few minutes, silent, lost in thought.

"What's dat?" Mattie asked, curiously tilting her head at Jean-Luc, wondering what he had thought of that she hadn't already tried.

"De Elixir. It saved Bella Donna dat time, an' it might save Jackie. It's never been used to counteract a spell or a curse b'fore, but dat don' mean it won' work. De least we can do is try it. What do you say?" Jean-Luc replied.

Mattie considered the idea for a moment as she looked at Jackie's still, silent form. Then she looked at Emil, still leaning on Theoren for support, a look of renewed hope masked by heartbreak on his face. Then she nodded slowly, turning back to Jean-Luc.

"I say we try it. It can' hurt. Go get de vile. We don' have any other options at dis point." She said.

Jean-Luc nodded and left the room. He returned a few minutes later carrying a small vile that looked almost like a flask. In it was the Elixir of Life, bestowed on the Thieves Guild by their benefactress. It was this syrup that had kept Jean-Luc and Tante Mattie looking and feeling as youthful as they did, in spite of their advanced ages. The Elixir had worked in saving a life once before, when it brought Bella Donna Boudreaux, daughter of Assassin Guild leader Marius Boudreaux, out of a long coma.

"Well," Jean-Luc said. "Mattie, would you do de honors? She's your patient after all."

Tante Mattie took the vile out of Jean-Luc's hands and moved closer to Jackie's bed, opening the vile when she stopped moving. Jean-Luc helped her by raising Jackie up so Mattie could safely get the Elixir into the mutant girl's mouth. When this was done, they put the Elixir away, and waited.

***

Five minutes later, Jackie's eyes fluttered open, and she groaned slightly, trying to focus on the world around her. She squeezed Emil's hand and when he looked at her she smiled.

"Hi," she said, her voice cracking.

"Oh t'ank God!" Emil exclaimed, leaning over and running a hand through her hair.

"How do you feel, chil'?" Mattie asked, her face mirroring the relieved looks on the faces of Jean-Luc, Theoren and, of course, Emil.

"Like someone ran me over wit' a transfer truck." Jackie replied. It was meant as a joke, but on one level, she was telling the truth. She wasn't kidding.

"You gave us quite a scare for a few hours dere, petite," Jean-Luc said, moving over to take her other hand.

"Papa! Your arm! Are you okay?" Jackie asked suddenly, remembering the events of the afternoon.

Jean-Luc smiled. "It hurts, but I'll be alright. We were much more concerned 'bout your well-bein' den mine."

Jackie sighed and winced. Her injury may have been healed, but it still hurt. "I know I jus' woke up after bein' unconscious for I don' know how long, mais, I'm tired an' my side hurts. Would any of you mind if I go back to sleep for awhile?"

"You go right ahead, kiddo." Theoren replied. "Jus' don' be surprised if Emil's still here when you wake up."

Jackie laughed and grabbed her side in pain. "Ow!" she exclaimed before replying to Theoren. "Theo, I'd be more surprised if he wasn' here when I woke up."

Jackie sighed as she snuggled down under the blankets, sneaking a glance at Emil, who was quickly falling asleep in a very uncomfortable position in the chair. She knew it would be a couple of days at least before Tante Mattie let her out of bed, but she was happy all the same, because she and her father were alive. 

And because she had someone like Emil in her life, someone who loved her enough to stay by her side through all things, good and bad. Even better, the entire Guild was like that.

'I'm one lucky mutant t'ief, to have such great people 'round me,' she thought as she drifted off to sleep.


	10. Reassurances

Reassurances

(NOTE: This is the last story in the Jackie/Emil series (yeah, I know, you're all saying 'thank god', right?) and as always, I own Jackie and the story. Marvel owns the rest. What I wouldn't give…)

***

"But Tante, I feel fine! I wan' get up!" Jackie complained rather loudly. Tante Mattie merely gave her patient an I-don'-t'ink-so-chil' look and left the room. Emil laughed.

"She won' let you, chere. Not 'til she's satisfied dat you're more den one hundred percent all right. Trust me. I've been dere." He chuckled.

Jackie sighed deeply. She had been stuck in bed for four days and the only reason she had been allowed to get up was to go to the bathroom. She felt like her body was permanently stuck to the bed. The only good thing that came out of the whole experience was the fact that Emil had stayed by her side almost continuously. He even endured sleeping in that uncomfortable chair every night without so much as a complaint.

"I hate dis bed…" Jackie muttered. "I don' t'ink I'll ever want to sleep in a bed 'gain after dis week…"

Emil smiled sympathetically at her. "I'm sorry. I'd sneak you outta here, but she'd get really mad…"

Jackie giggled at the thought. "Emil, don' do anyt'ing to jeopardize de fact dat she's lettin' you stay in here wit' me. I t'ought for awhile she was gon' kick you out."

"Oh, I won'. An' she couldn' kick me out. I won' let her."

With a raise of her eyebrows, Jackie commented, "You wouldn' let her, huh? Somehow I don' t'ink you'd have a say in de matter if she got it into her head to get you to leave."

Emil blushed slightly. "Okay, okay. De woman can do whatever she wants. Even Jean-Luc does what she says."

"Dat's what I t'ought." Jackie chuckled.

***

Two days later, Tante Mattie told Jackie and Emil that Jackie would be able to get out of bed and go downstairs the next day. The couple was elated, and Emil actually left the room for awhile that night, but when he came back, he refused to tell Jackie what was going on.

"What were you doin'?" Jackie asked when he returned.

"You'll see." Emil replied vaguely with a sly and somewhat evil grin.

"Aw, come on! Tell me!"

"Nope. You'll have to wait until tomorrow."

Jackie sighed and decided to let it go. Emil could be stubborn when he wanted to be, and it was obvious he wasn't going to tell her.

The next day, around lunchtime, Tante Mattie gave Jackie the okay to get up and go downstairs. 

"Thank Go-oodness!" Jackie exclaimed, throwing back the covers. She'd wanted to get out of her room for more than two minutes for days. Mattie smiled and followed Jackie downstairs, where Jackie got a very nice surprise.

The entire Thieves Guild were standing in the living room, surrounded by brightly colored balloons, tables of food and one table that contained…presents.

"What de…?" Jackie asked, her eyes wide in wonder.

"We wanted to show you how glad we are that you're okay and that you can join the real world again." Zoe explained, handing Jackie a glass of punch. "It was Emil's idea."

"Oh, so _dis_ is what you wouldn' tell me 'bout last night!" Jackie said, grinning at Emil, who tried to look innocent and failed miserably.

Jackie went over to the table with the presents. "You guys didn' have to do all dis…" she said.

"We wanted to, petite. Can you blame us? We were worried 'bout you." Jean-Luc replied, hugging her from behind. "And oui, you can keep de gifts. Dey're for you anyways."

"T'anks." Jackie replied, looking at the colorfully wrapped gifts. She raised her eyebrows and laughed. She could tell which ones Mercy or Zoe had wrapped as opposed to the ones the guys had wrapped. It was funny…the guys couldn't wrap presents to save their lives. However, Jackie knew it was the thought that counted.

"Are you goin' to open dem?" Genard asked.

Jackie sat on the couch and flashed her friend a smile as the others gathered around her. "You know…I t'ink I will! Would you hand dem to me, please, do I don' have to keep getting up all de time?"

"Sure, no problem." Genard replied, handing her the first present, a big, bulky thing wrapped in shiny purple paper. The paper was held together by more tape than Jackie thought was possible to fit on a present of that size. It was from Theoren.

Jackie giggled at him. "Got a little tape-happy, did we?"

Theo blushed. "I'm not good at t'ings like dat…. Would you like a knife, you know, to get t'rough de tape?"

"I t'ink I can get it, but if I need a knife, I'll ask you, okay?"

Theo nodded as Jackie ripped into the tape. After much struggle, she managed to get through the tape and succeeded in opening the present. Upon seeing what it was, Jackie burst out laughing.

"My very own official Thieves Guild armor! Theo, are you tryin' to tell me somet'ing?"

"It's a safety precaution. Your mutant powers can' prevent t'ings like what happened de other day from happenin' 'gain. We don' want anyt'ing to happen to you. Hence de armor." Theoren explained.

Jackie nodded. "T'ank you. It means a lot to me dat you'd t'ink of givin' me somet'ing like dis."

The next present was from Jean-Luc. Jackie opened it and gasped. It was a beautiful dark lavender gown, the fanciest dress Jackie had ever laid eyes on. "Oh Papa…!" she breathed.

Jean-Luc smiled at his daughter, a soft, loving expression on his face. He put a hand on her shoulder and replied, "Well, you know, you can' keep borrowin' Zoe's clothes when you an' Emil go out. You should have somet'ing fancy of your own, I t'ought. Do you like it?"

Jackie's eyes had lit up like lights on a Christmas tree. "Papa, I love it! It's beautiful!" She said, hugging him. She opened Mercy's present next, and was delighted to find a pair of elegant high-heeled shoes that matched the dress perfectly, as well as a pair of gold hair clips.

Jackie was equally delighted with the gifts from Claude, Zoe and Genard. Zoe got her a beautiful poster of a timber wolf walking through the woods in the snow. Claude got her a beeper ("I'm assumin' dat's so you guys will always be able to find me…" Jackie laughed when she opened it) and Genard got her a computer game so she could get some use out of Jean-Luc's computer.

When the presents where opened and the food was consumed, Tante Mattie, who had gotten Jackie a necklace of diamonds and quartz gems, suggested that Jackie should maybe lay down for a little while.

"You look tired, chil'." She commented. Jackie couldn't argue with Mattie, because she _was_ tired. And half-wondering why Emil didn't have a present for her when the whole thing was his idea in the first place. 

Emil followed Jackie back upstairs, after Jackie had thanked everyone again. Before Jackie got into bed, Emil grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him, wrapping her in his strong arms, kissing her deeply and passionately. Jackie kissed him back, melting into his embrace.

When the kiss finally ended, Emil sighed and looked into her eyes, his blue eyes filled with love. "I love you," he breathed. "I was so worried de other day…I was terrified I was gon' to lose you."

Jackie smiled up at him and kissed his lips lightly. "You're not gon' lose me, ever. I love you, an' I ain' 'bout to let anyt'ing jeopardize dat." She climbed into bed and moved over, patting the space beside her. "Stay wit' me?" she asked, with an innocent raise of her eyebrows.

Emil smiled. "Sure," he replied, lying down beside her. She cuddled up close to him and fell asleep very quickly, while he watched over her, running his hand through her soft hair with a contented sigh. He was very happy and felt extremely blessed.

'T'ank you, God,' he thought, snuggling closer to Jackie and putting an arm protectively around her.

***

Jackie woke up early the next morning and was happy to find Emil lying peacefully beside her, a look of contentment on his face. Jackie smiled and reached up, lightly running a finger over his cheek.

Emil stirred at her touch and opened his eyes. They lit up when they saw her and he smiled. Jackie thought his eyes reminded her of blue sapphires. 

"Good morning." Emil said softly.

"Hi." Jackie replied. "Do you realize we slept all t'rough dinner, all night, until now?"

Emil checked the alarm clock. "Oui, I guess we did. I didn' realize I was so tired…"

Jackie chuckled. "You slept in dat confounded chair for a week. I'm not surprised you were tired. I can' figure out how you actually managed to sleep in dat chair at all…"

"It was hard, but I wasn' really t'inkin' 'bout bein' uncomfortable, I was t'inkin' 'bout you."

"T'ank you for stayin' wit' me all week…you didn' have to, mais you did. Dat means a lot to me." Jackie said quietly, running her fingers through his hair.

"I wanted to stay, an' in a sense I did have to. I was worried 'bout you, an' dere was no way I was gon' leave you for anyt'ing."

Jackie's violet and black eyes filled with tears as Emil watched in astonishment. In a matter of seconds, those tears were running down her cheeks like waves flowing from the ocean to the shore. Jackie tried to look away, but Emil wouldn't let her, taking her chin in one hand, a concerned frown on his face.

"Jackie…chere…why are you cryin'?" Emil asked, using his free hand to gently wipe the flowing tears off her cheeks.

"I'm not sad," Jackie replied. "I…what did…how did I get dis lucky?"

"What do you mean?" Emil inquired, reaching over and handing her a Kleenex. 

Jackie sighed. "All my life, for as long as I can remember, dere's never been anybody, not even de people in de circus, who really loved me. Den a few months ago, I ran into Tante at de park, she introduced me to Papa, and all of a sudden, I had a fam'ly, a group of people who would do anyt'ing for me. An' you…"

Emil crossed his eyes, which made Jackie giggle. "What 'bout me?"

"I love you. An' I've never loved anybody in my life." Jackie said. "It scares de hell outta me, but it's also de most incredible an' amazing t'ing I've ever felt in my life an' I don' want it to end. Emil…why do you love me? I mean, I'm a mutant an'…" Jackie's voice trailed off and she looked away.

"Shhhh…" Emil said softly, pulling her closer to him. "Your bein' a mutant has not'ing to do wit' de way I feel 'bout you. I love you b'cause of what's in here," he lightly tapped her on the head. "And I love you b'cause of what's in here," he continued, placing his hand over her heart. "I feel de same way you do, scared an' amazed at de same time, an' sometimes I don' know which feelin' is stronger. What I _do_ know is dat I love you, more den anyt'ing else in dis whole world, an' not'ing, absolutely _not'ing_ will ever change dat."

"'Gain, how did I get so lucky?" Jackie asked.

Emil gave her a lopsided grin and replied, "If you ever figure out de answer to dat question, could you tell me what it is? I been lookin' for it for weeks…"

***

"Hey Claude, can I talk to you for a second?" Jackie asked at the end of a Guild meeting three days later.

Claude raised an eyebrow. "Me? You wan' talk to me?" Jackie and Emil may have forgiven him and Theoren for the stupid things they said, but Jackie had never expressed any real desire to interact with either of them. Until now.

Jackie giggled. "Yeah. You. Is dat okay?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess. Hang on." Claude replied, turning to Theoren. "You don' have to wait if you don' want to. I got a feelin' dis could take awhile." Then he followed Jackie back into the living room of the mansion and sat down across from her.  
"You confused?" Jackie asked to start the conversation.

"Kinda. I mean you don' usually wan' talk to me." Claude said with a lopsided grin.

Jackie sighed. "I know. An' I'm sorry 'bout dat. I don' t'ink I've ever given you or Theo much of a chance…I'd like to change dat."

Claude smiled. "Dat's okay by me, an' I know Theo won' mind either. So, what'd you want to talk to me 'bout?"

"It's somet'ing I couldn' ask Papa. He'd jus' t'ink I was crazy. Or maybe he wouldn', I don' know. It's not an easy t'ing to ask, it's not an easy t'ing to t'ink 'bout, either." Jackie said.

"Well, easy or hard, I'll do my best to answer." Claude replied.

"T'anks. Um, Claude? Remy never really fit in 'round here, did he?"

Claude sighed. "Huh. Well, as a t'ief, yeah, he did. He's still one of de best de Guild has ever seen."

"But…?" Jackie prodded.

"Some of de others…an' I guess I have to admit dat Theoren an' I were in dat group…didn' want him 'round. It wasn' b'cause he's a mutant, alt'ough some of de older members shunned him b'cause of dat. It was more b'cause he was an outsider, adopted. De Guild has always been based on a group of clans, even t'ough dere aren' many of us left, an' it was difficult for some of de others to accept someone who wasn' from one of de clans to b'gin wit'."

"You're de last one in your clan, aren' you? I 'member Papa said somet'ing 'bout dat once."

"Oui. De rest of my fam'ly died a long time 'go. Jackie, why are you askin' dis stuff? I mean you _could_ have talked to Jean-Luc, he wouldn' have lied to you." Claude replied.

"If Remy was considered an outsider, what changed? Why has it been different for me, why aren' I treated de same way?" Jackie asked, facing her friend squarely.

Claude sighed again, a look of understanding crossing his face. "So dat's what dis is all 'bout. Jackie, none of de people who treated Remy like dat are alive anymore. De rest of us were always more open-minded, we still are. Henri wasn' de only one who was Remy's brother, we all were. We accepted him de way he was, even t'ough he wasn' really one of our own. De same way we accept you."

"If I wasn' Remy's kid sister, would you still accept me?"

"Of course! We accepted you b'fore we even knew you were his sister, 'member?" Claude said. "'Gain, why are you askin' dis? I'm jus' curious. An' why are you askin' me?"

"I asked you b'cause I wanted someone who wouldn' jus' give me an answer dey t'ought I wanted to hear. It was either you or Theo, but I picked you b'cause I wanted to talk to you. An' I'm askin', b'cause I overheard somet'ing Papa an' Theoren were talkin' 'bout last night, an' it scared me." Jackie explained.

"What was dat? An' if dey knew you were listenin', dey wouldn' be happy, trust me on dat." Claude told her with a grin.

"Oh, I know. Dey were arguin' 'bout Remy. Theo said all dis stuff 'bout him not b'longin', an' how Papa was wrong to have adopted him, an'…" Jackie faltered.

"An' you drew your own conclusions 'bout it. Jackie, when Theo gets mad, he says stuff he shouldn'. We all do. He wouldn' have said any of it if he'd known you were dere. Jean-Luc wasn' wrong 'bout Remy, an' he certainly wasn' wrong 'bout you. Both you an' Remy are a part of dis Guild, no matter what happens. I can promise you dat."

"T'anks Claude. Can you see why I couldn' talk to Papa or Theo 'bout it?"

"Uh, oui. Good move."

***

Later that night, Jackie found Jean-Luc making supper in the kitchen. She went up behind him and gave him a huge hug, yanking on his ponytail. He turned around and smiled at her, spatula in hand.

"What was dat for? De hug, I mean. I know it's hard to resist tuggin' on de tail." He joked.

"Dat was for…well, for everyt'ing. For takin' me in an' makin' me part of your fam'ly. An' for bein' you. B'cause only you can be you an' get away wit' it."

Jean-Luc smiled down at Jackie and returned the hug. "You're welcome. You know, I don' t'ink de Guild would be de same without you. I know Emil wouldn', at any rate…!"

Jackie's eyes lit up at the mention of Emil. Jean-Luc laughed. "You got it bad, petite. But dat's okay. You're entitled to it. What are you doin' tonight?"

"I didn' have anyt'ing planned…pourquoi?"

"Well, de others are comin' over, we're all goin' to play Pictionary. I was wonderin' if you would like to join us." Jean-Luc offered.

"Is Emil goin' to be here?" Jackie asked slyly.

"Oui. Everyone in de Guild is comin' over. You don' have to play if you don' want to." Jean-Luc told her.

"You know, I t'ink it would be fun. Sure, I'm in. It might be fun. Never played b'fore, t'ough. Maybe I shouldn' play 'gainst Genard…you know what happened de first time I played Monopoly…!"

Jean-Luc laughed. "We'll settle de teams when everyone gets here. But dat's a very good idea…he was really upset 'bout dat, wasn' he? Now, could you give me a hand wit' dis? I could use de help."

"Okay. But I'm still not de best cook in de world…"

"An' I am?" 

"You're better den me. But I don' cook much…I do more cold stuff. Or microwave." Jackie giggled, handing him the tomato sauce.

"T'anks. Hey, Jackie?" Jean-Luc asked suddenly, a soft look coming over his face.

"Oui, Papa?"

"Je t'aime, ma fille."

"I love you too, Papa. Now, if you burn dat gumbo, can we order pizza?" Jackie laughed.

"It's a deal."


End file.
